Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning
by Night Sky
Summary: Five years ago, Takato left, tears dripping down his face, his innocence ripped in half, and his digimon behind him... Now, he's back. But is it to unite the first Tamers or to gain his revenge? CHAPTER TEN! EVENTUALLY RUKATO!
1. Looking At The Past Through A Looking Gl...

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: Yay! Another fic (as if I wasn't having enough trouble with my first one –-")!!! But anyways, this whole idea of this story was from Tatsu No Houou, as well as the plot. ^^ The only thing you can give me credit for is typing it out with my own decription and giving him a few ideas. Either way, I own nothing. -_-"

Disclaimer: As I said above: I own nothing… *sobs quietly*

Chapter One: Looking At The Past With A Looking Glass

******

Five Years Ago 

"No!" Takato, age five, cried out in despair as he lost yet another card game to Hirokazu, and, another handful of his cards as well.

"Can we play again Hirokazu?" Takato begged, more than a little eager at the chance to win some of his cards back. "Please?"

"Aw, come on Takato! That's the third match I've won!" Hirokazu protested. "Beside, you barely have any cards left!" 

It was true, Takato had very few cards left, most of them being lost to Hirokazu in games, but he wanted to play, if Hirokazu and him battled just one last time, maybe he could win… Maybe get back his cards… Right now they sat in a small pile beside both Hirokazu and Kenta who was watching on the sidelines. "Please?" He asked again, "Just one more game?"

Hirokazu sighed, and shook his head, he may have been in Kindergarten, but he wasn't as naïve as Takato. He knew that if he battled him again, that Takato would lose; he'd make sure of it. Takato was an amateur, really. He had no skill whatsoever when it came to the digimon card game, and it didn't help that he acted more like a wimp than anything. 

Usually, he would have usually jumped at the chance to win some more cards, but Takato had very few good ones left. That's why he made his next bet, "Fine, Takato," He spoke, a smirk planted on his face, "I'll play you another game, but if I win, you give me ALL you cards, got it?"

Kenta said nothing. Sure he liked the card game, but he rarely played it. He had very few friends around here, and Takato and Hirokazu were the only ones that liked digimon. He would have played with them, but after a while the games were predictable. With Takato, he knew he could win, mostly because Takato was a poor player, and with Hirokazu… Well he had won a few games, but had learned that Hirokazu sometimes cheated if he didn't like the way the game was going. He didn't want to lose all his cards.

He prayed to the gods that Takato wasn't stupid enough to accept this unfair bet. Sure Takato had very few good cards left, but his whole deck?! Even Takato should have been able to see it for the scam it was. Hirokazu hadn't even told him what he'd get if he actually won!

Sadly, whatever gods were listening at this time of day, never replied.

"Fine!" Takato replied angrily, he may have been a little naïve, but even he knew Hirokazu was being unfair. "But this time, I'll win!"

Hirokazu only smirked again.

Takato set his cards on the ground, and he watched as the other boy did the same. 

Hirokazu's first digimon was Veemon, Takato's, Gabumon. They both set their rookies down in front of them, and began to play.

******

It was raining now, and as Takato walked down the street, thunder boomed overhead. It was almost impossible to tell he was crying, as the rainwater dripping down his face mixed in with his tears.

He'd lost.

Still, he couldn't believe it. He had been doing so well at first; winning the first two games they played, easily. It almost seemed as if Hirokazu was letting him win! But, he knew it have been too good to be true… Hirokazu had made a killer comeback, winning the next three games in a row. Takato no longer had his cards with him, because Hirokazu owned those now.

He tried to get them back of course, trying everything from begging him, to accusing him of cheating. Hirokazu was angry with him, of course. He had called him a sore loser, and it didn't help that Takato hated-

"Takato?"

He looked up sharply to see who had spoke. It was Juri.

"Oh, hi Juri." Juri could tell something was wrong. They might not have been best friends but she ALWAYS knew when something was wrong. She looked at him with a questioning glaze.

Even at age five she was loving, caring, kind, sweet, and many other things that just made her, well, Juri.

He shook he head, tears still dripping down his face, "Don't worry about it, it's not important."

She was soaked as she was, though she really didn't seem to mind. *A girl who loved the world and everything in it* Takato thought. She smiled, "Okay, but I wanna show you something." She had something about her that told him she was excited. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him behind her. "Come on!" He didn't reply, but just followed.

Finally she stopped, a store in front of both of them, and pointed at something in the window.

"Bark! Digivice!" Juri's puppet spoke out for her. It WAS a toy digivice, obviously new in stock! And he goggled at it. "Whoa… Cool…" Takato spoke out loud. "How'd you find out about this Juri?" He turned to her. 

She just shrugged, "I just saw it in the shop window one day."

It was now his turn to grab her by the arm, and Takato pulled her into the store. Five minutes later, both of them were out again, and Takato held a blue digivice in his hand. It had cost a lot, but it was worth it.

He stared down at it. This digivice wasn't just some piece of plastic, as he had learned from the shop owner. This was meant for VR battles, or Virtual Reality battles, as he had found out. His new digimon was Koromon, and as he had also learned, he gained levels every time he fought battles. Takato was determined to make him the best, no matter what it took. He clenched the toy tightly in his hand.

By the time Takato looked up, Juri was half way down the street. "Bye Takato!" She called over her shoulder. "Bye!" Takato called back to her. 

She sure knew how to cheer people up…

******

For the next few weeks, Takato spent his time drawing (something he kept doing, even after getting the digivice) and carried his digivice around everywhere. Because it was new, it became popular with almost everyone at school, and some of the older kids, even tried to buy it off of him. But he wouldn't sell it for anything. He fought battles with his Agumon (it had digivolved just a little while ago), against other people at lunch hour, trained it during school time, when he was suppose to be listening to his teacher, and it even came to the point where Takato started playing it at the dinner table.

"Takato put that thing away!" His mother yelled at him. "I've told you three times already in the last week alone, I don't want to see that thing at the dinner table!"

"But mom!" Takato protested.

His father jumped in. "What can it hurt honey? It's just a toy!" He finished, trying to keep the peace in the family, and help out his son as well. 

Unfortunately, this only worsened the situation. "Just a toy!? Takehiro, we're eating dinner like a family, so we should at least act like a family!" She turned to Takato again, "Takato, put that toy in your pocket, until we've finished dinner." She ordered.

Takato pouted, but agreed, slipping the digivice into his pant pocket. 

Dinner was quite, no one spoke, and Takato thought it better that way. Both of his parents were grumpy, he could tell that much, and he thought/hoped, that if he kept his mouth shut, dinner would pass quickly and he would be able to go upstairs and train Agumon.

Suddenly three small beeps came from Takato's pocket, and both his mother, and father, looked up from their meal.

Slowly Takato reached into is pocket, and withdrew the digivice. The colorful screen was flashing now, "Oh yeah!" He cried out happily, much to his parent's annoyance. "He's digivolving! AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TO GREYMON!" The screen flashed once more and a Greymon replaced the original Agumon that had been there before.

But it didn't matter now; his mother had had enough of this. "Takato, go to your room." Takato could tell from his mother's soft, hard voice, and clenched teeth, that she was angry. Very angry.

Takato spoke almost as softly as his mother had, but this time, not from anger. "Yes mom." He got up, ran up the stairs, and into his room.

In his room, Takato could still hear the voices of his parents.

His father, "What was that for?" He sounded calm, cool, collect, but to people who knew him well, this was a sign of him trying to hide his anger.

"What was that for?" His mother asked again, "Takehiro, he needs to start growing up, and taking reasonability! He can't keep acting like a little kid!"

His father spoke again, anger laced through his words now, "But he is a little kid, our little boy! We can't just give that up so easily!"

"Takehiro," His mother's voice was softer now, "to me he will always be our little boy, always." She repeated, "But he just needs to know right from wrong, it's the key to growing up."

A sigh. "Are we going to talk to him?"

"Yes," She replied, "You know we have too."

Another sigh. "Yes, I know."

Takato waited, where they going to come up and talk to him know? He hated long lectures, but he knew he couldn't avoid it… His parents always tried to make sure he understood what he did wrong and that he wasn't to do it again. He still didn't like them though.

Still he waited, were they coming or not? Suddenly there was a sharp knock, and Takato guessed it was the front door.

He heard his father say, "I'll get it." And his mother didn't reply. Maybe she nodded? He didn't know.

The front door was opened, Takato knew that much, but wasn't so sure of what happen next, as he stood, waiting by his door.

******

Takehiro walked towards the front door, wondering who would be knocking on their door at this time of night. Really it wasn't that late, but still, people knew that they should have been eating dinner around this time. He guessed it to be one of Takato's friends, but ruled that out quickly. 

For the last few weeks Takato's small group of friends seemed to shrink even smaller. Juri was one of the few people now who even bothered to visit Takato, and he hadn't heard from her in a while. Mie had heard that her mother had died, and he wondered if she had even bothered to tell Takato yet.

He put that thought into the back of his mind, he'd ask Mie about it later. Still… If it wasn't one of Takato's friends then who was it?

He opened the door, and was not expecting what he saw.

A tall, pale, man stood in front of him, his features hidden by the shadows of the night. Takehiro didn't known why, but the man gave him the creeps.

"Takehiro?" Mie called from the kitchen, "Who is it?"

He didn't get the chance to reply, when the man at the door spoke for him, "That is none of your concern." He stated. "Matsuda Takato lives here does he not?"

Takehiro frowned, "Why do you ask? He's not in trouble is he?"

The stranger put on a grin that sent shivers down Takehiro's spine. "Oh, he is in trouble… Might I have a word with him?"

Mie had now stepped out of the kitchen, she seemed to get the same vibe off the man that he did, because she shook her head in protest.

He turned back to the man, "I'm sorry, he's not home… Now if you don't mind-" He was cut off by a swift blow to the gut.

The stranger proceeded to walk into the house.

Takehiro quickly recovered and got to his feet, grabbing the man by the shoulder. "What are you doing in my house? Answer me."

The man turned, looking at him with an unphased expression, a mask showing over his eyes, blond bangs on his forehead.

"Answer me!" He shouted this time.

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again, this is not of your concern!" With his last words, Takehiro was thrown into the wall. He did not attempt to get up.

Mie, who had been slowly edging towards the kitchen again, watched in horror as her husband hit the wall and then sank to the floor. 

"Takehiro!" She ran towards him. She didn't get very far.

A hand grasped itself around her neck. It felt like ice.

Despite her fears she forced her gaze up to see who was holding her...it was the stranger who threw her husband...

"Where is Matsuda Takato?"

She gasped for breath. "I don't know!" 

He tightened his grip on her neck. "You're lying."

Takehiro was now awake, and he groaned. 

Mie's eyes flickered from the man holding her, to her husband, and back again.

Both of them saw the moment. 

******

I heard something hit a wall downstairs, and hushed voice… Something wasn't right...I could feel it in my bones. But what was going on down there? 

Unconsciously I picked up my prototype card and stuffed it in my pocket. It had been something I had been working on for a while… A new digimon, I was planning on eventually sending it to the card companying, but still hadn't gotten the stamps to do so.

I slowly opened my bedroom door, watching from the top of the stairs.

The man looked from the one man on the floor, and then to the one he held by the neck. Was that mom? My eyes widened, and that was dad lying on the floor! I felt like crying but held back.

But no… That wasn't a man… He was far to pale and- a digimon? Was he really a digimon? I tried to remember his name, I would have looked through my cards for his name but remembered I didn't have them anymore… 

Vamemon? Vedemon? Vamdemon! Takato remembered now, Hirokazu had once used that card before, and beaten Takato horribly with it. First he had used a Devidevimon, a rookie level that could have been easily beaten by Takato's Shellmon. But then he had evolved it twice, to Bakumon, and then Vamdemon. Takato's Shellmon had been toasted after being hit with 'Grisly Wing'. 

It was about to happen again by the looks of things.... He was about to lose everything to another Vamdemon....

******

Takehiro woke up, the pain of his entire body making him feel weak and almost sick to his stomach. But Mie's neck was still being grasped by the stranger, he force himself upwards, his feet almost gave way from the dizziness he felt, but he leaned on the wall for support. 

"LET GO OF HER" He shouted, yet the stranger ignored him only asking one question... "Where is your child, tell me and I will let her go.... Don't, and... You know what will happen."

A smirk appeared on the ghostly face of the Vamdemon as he watched the pathetic human try and decide... "I will give you 5 seconds to tell me or she will die."

"5" He watched Takehiro in amusement.

"4" Takehiro didn't know what to do!

"3" The seconds seemed to go by faster and faster.

"2" Vamdemon paused for a breath…

"1" The ghostly smirk was back.

*Snap* Mie's eyes were opened wide in shock, though she gazed at nothing...

Vamdemon let go of her and she fell.... Lifeless as a doll.

******

Vamdemon continued to smirk… He was listening for anything that would give up the location of the child…

Takehiro was shocked, it was like he couldn't speak, couldn't breath, he was completely lost in his own world… 

Takato… There was stunned silence. He didn't cry… Tears just wouldn't come. He wanted to hurt Vamdemon though… He wanted to hurt him so badly that he would scream in both terror and agony, and make up for what he had done to his mother. She still lay there, eyes wide open, dead. 

But he couldn't hurt Vamdemon… That's what tore him apart the most… He couldn't make him pay. Only because he was a kid… A helpless little kid… That's when the tears finally came; they fell like the rain had just a few hours before. He just sat there and cried silently to himself… 

That's when a small sob escaped.

Vamdemon immediately locked his eyes on the small boy sitting by the stairs, his smirk bigger than before. He'd found his target. Takato looked up, tears still there, but fire in his eyes. He wouldn't be afraid… He told himself. He wouldn't be afraid… He whipped tears from his eyes, and Vamdemon watched him stand up, digivice in hand.

******

Takehiro saw what was happening.... He wouldn't let Mie's death be in vain. With speed he never knew he had he threw himself in front of Vamdemon and Takato... He wouldn't let that beast get his son...

Vamdemon only smirked "So you wish to throw you life away, fine by me... GRISSLY WING"

A wave of battle hit Takehiro, and suddenly it felt as if he was being ripped apart. Each bat started to devour him piece by piece. He was in incredible pain but he wouldn't cry out... He wouldn't run in fear. 

Swatting some bats aside he tried to run at Vamdemon… His last thoughts, *I'm sorry Takato, I hope you can make it alone…* He was completely devoured before his first steps.

******

Vamdemon shook his head in amusement. "Such pathetic creatures you humans are… You're weak, and burn with emotions most digimon have never even thought of, nor need, love, hope, light, dreams." He frowned, before looking to Takato who was shaking with rage, and other suppressed emotions. He was smirking again. "Now to come what I came for."

Takato stared back into Vamdemon's face, tears were falling again, but he was glaring… With a look that promised pain.

He felt something inside him, bottled up like the anger he felt, he knew he couldn't hold either of these things much longer so… He let it all go. That's when a faint red aura began to form around Takato; it was what had been bottled up before. His anger, his hate, his thirst for revenge, his power. His hair suddenly turned a ghostly silver, and Takato was driven by instincts he never knew he had. The digivice in one hand, he used to the other to reach into his pocket, and grabbed his prototype card, his Guilmon card.

The card seemed to have a mind of it's own as it launched itself out of his hand and started to spiral, revolving around Takato, faster, and faster each time. But after it's second rotation it suddenly stopped in front of him.

As he grew older, Takato would remember this moment, wondering how his power had come to him, and what it's real purpose was, for good or evil. But at the time Takato cared about nothing other than his main goal, to destroy Vamdemon. 

Suddenly his eyes flashed white, as did the card in front of him as it was bathed in the light. That when the bright light began to grow big, and the card seemed to expand and mold into something new. Afterwards both the glow of the card and Takato's eyes died down, what was left in it's place was a digimon…

Guilmon.

He didn't know how it had happened, and at the moment he didn't care, all he wanted was Vamdemon gone. "Guilmon!" He shouted to his newfound partner. "Go!"

Now him AND Guilmon both were surrounded by a faint red aura. Guilmon seemed to sense both Takato's hurt and anger, and used this to increase his power. With a fiery growl he lunged at Vamdemon

Before, the Virus had watched in faint amusement and then slight worry as Takato released his rage, but now as Guilmon attacked Vamdemon was forced to defend himself, and shouted out, "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" 

Suddenly a sharp, red, whip of lightning came at Guilmon and hit him above the eyes. He was thrown backwards, and a large red cut lie where it had hit him. Takato ran over to him, kneeling at his side and looking at the deep, red, cut. 

"Are you okay Guilmon?" 

The digimon was already getting to his feet. "Fine, Takatomon." He answered.

Takato wanted to ask Guilmon how he knew his name, and why he'd added the 'mon', but thought better of it. 

"Guilmon?" He asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" He answered, cocking his head to one side.

The scared little kid was back again, "We can beat him right?"

"Of course," Guilmon tried to comfort his partner. "But we have to work together."

Takato stood as well, "I'll do my best."

Vamdemon smirked, "Very touching indeed," He spoke with sarcasm. "But if you don't mind I'd like to get on with this."

"Fine by me!" Takato and Guilmon spoke in unison, now the aura around them had turned a dark blue. 

"GRISSLY WING!"

Guilmon dove through the bats, and the ones that did come close to hitting him, flew away quickly to avoid hitting the blue aura, they seemed almost afraid of it. And Guilmon found it almost easy to get to Vamdemon, where he shouted, "PYRO SPHERE!" The attack hit Vamdemon directly in the stomach and was forced backwards. 

Now different emotions appeared on his face, he looked almost afraid. Almost. He covered it up with another smirk. "Well it seems your powers are stronger than I originally thought…" He seemed to think about this for a moment, and both Takato and Guilmon watched him closely. "But, no matter" He finished. "I must leave, but I promise you I will return, and by that time I hope you will have learned to harness this power of yours."

The anger was back with Takato now, "You're not going anywhere! Get him Guilmon!" Guilmon lunged at the spot where Vamdemon had been, but it was too late, he was gone…

The danger now passed, Takato seemed to lose his newfound strength, and he collapsed.

"Takatomon!" Guilmon ran to his fallen partner.

"Don't worry about me…" Takato grunted as he pulled himself into a sitting position on the floor. "I'll be just fine." But no, as Takato looked around him, he knew he would not be fine… His mother's dead body still lay just outside the kitchen, and there was a small stain of blood where his father had last stood. 

He could never be fine after this.

"Takatomon?"

Takato didn't bother to ask what he wanted, "We're leaving Guilmon." He stated quietly. The tears were starting again, and he knew he had to leave this place.

"Huh?"

"We can't stay here Guilmon. What if Vamdemon decides to come back? Besides even if he didn't show up again they'd find you, and I don't want that to happen. Now stay right here, okay?"

Not waiting for him to answer he ran up the stairs to grab some things. Taking his green backpack out of the closet he stuff a few things into it. An old sweater, a teddy, a picture of his parents, and… His digivice. Doing this he noticed something he hadn't before. The digivice didn't look like some toy anymore; it was real, just like the ones he'd seen on the TV show. But there was one small difference between the two… Instead of being a light blue, this digivice was pitch black. He didn't bother wondering about it, just shoving it in his backpack with the rest of his stuff.

He met Guilmon at the bottom of the stairs again. And avoiding glances at his mother who was still staring out into nothingness, he opened the front door; both Guilmon and him ready to leave this sight behind. They were going now, hopefully never to return.

Takato glanced into the house one last time before closing the door behind him.

"Goodbye Mom," He whispered.

******

Present Time 

Takato stared at the old house in front of him, Guilmon hiding in the shadows behind him. They were back, after five years they had finally gained the courage to come back… No, he corrected himself, you, gained the courage to come back. Guilmon had it to begin with, he wasn't afraid of some dumb house.

Takato shook his head sadly, just looking at the house brought back memories, things he had tried to forget a long time ago and failed, now those memories were strengthened and it didn't give Takato a good feeling. He wished he were anywhere but here at the moment.

Things had been relatively good the past five years, but he had a feeling that, that was all going to change. Sadly, for better or for worse, he didn't know.

******

Finally finished! Yay! Hehe. Anyways as you can see Tamers is going to take a slightly different turn in this fic. Though Takato is a chosen the other main characters (a.k.a. Ruki, Jenrya, Juri, etc) will still be Tamers. For more imformation you'll just have to wait for the next chapter ^^


	2. Takato's Return To School Culumon's Arri...

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: O_O 15 reviews… *looks like she's going to faint, but amazingly doesn't* Whoa, I never thought I'd never get that many ^_^ But I thank all of your wonderful people who read and enjoyed my fic! Now read on to the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter Two: Takato's Return To School; Culumon's Arrival

******

A girl and her digimon entering the Digital Field, expecting to gain another easy victory... But what they see is a shock and annoyance to them... They see a mysterious fighter defeating the Digimon that was "Theirs"

"What is he doing!?" The redhead asks her digimon partner in annoyance. "He's going to get himself killed!"

Her digimon, Renamon shook her head. "I don't think so Ruki…" She pointed to the digimon that stood beside the boy. "I don't know what kind of digimon that is, but he's strong, maybe stronger than me."

Ruki looked angry that she would even think such a thing. "You're kidding me, right? That digimon is too small to be even champion, I bet you could walk all over him!"

Renamon frowned, "It's nice to know you install such confidence in me." 

"Guilmon," The silver haired boy, called to his digimon, not noticing the newcomers beside him. "Finish him before he gets the chance to harm another innocent!" Really the Snimon they fought hadn't harmed anyone… Yet. Takato was here to make sure that didn't happen. Besides, the saying had been used before… But that didn't matter now.

"Got it Takatomon… FIREBALL!!" The fireball that shot out of Guilmon's mouth wiped out the Snimon with no problem, and he burst into digital data.

"Get his data Guilmon!" Takato shouted to him.

"Okay!" The child-like innocents was back now that the danger was gone, and Guilmon sucked up the digimon's data.

Ruki frowned at the data they had lost tonight, but questions whirled around in her mind and she was much more interested in this new digimon that stood but 10 feet away from her. She took her blue D-Arc into her hand, and pointed it at the digimon in front of her. Nothing happened. 

She shook it slightly wondering if something was wrong with it, before pointing it at Renamon. "Renamon," She read. "data type digimon." She went on to read Renamon's stats and attacks, before looking up at her. "The D-Arc works when I point it at you, Renamon. So why doesn't it work on him?" She asked confused, pointed to the boy's digimon.

Renamon shook her head again. "I'm sorry Ruki, I don't know."

Both, him and his digimon were leaving now, and she called over to him. "Hey! Wait!"

He looked up slightly surprised, it was obvious that he hadn't noticed her before. His digimon looked up as well, and growled menacingly when he saw Renamon.

Both Ruki and Renamon stood their ground, "I want a digimon battle, that is if your strong enough," She stated, thinking he couldn't refuse. "Renamon and me, against you and your talking dinosaur." She said while pointing at "Takatomon" and at Guilmon.

But he did refuse. "Forget it."

Both Renamon's and Ruki's eyes widened in surprise. "Look," Ruki snapped at him. "I'm not giving you much of a choice in the matter. You either fight or your pathetic excuse for a digimon becomes digital data." She already had gotten her cards out in preparation of battle.

Takato frowned. "What you call a pathetic excuse for a digimon, is my friend, and unlike you I fight for a purpose, to protect people." He shook his head. "Digimon aren't just data, their living things. You just seem to want to fight to become stronger. Well forget it." He stated again. "I'm not going to help you over come your goals, if that's what you call them." He commented. With these words he started to walk away. Guilmon gave another menacing growl, before following behind him.

Ruki was shaking with anger now, how dare he say that too her, Renamon was her digimon, to do with as she pleased. And if she wanted to fight then she would. "Renamon." She stated. "Attack!"

Renamon would have spoken her displeasure in the matter if she thought it would help, but she knew Ruki was set on this. She attacked the two from behind.

Takato heard her coming though. "Guilmon." He stated. The digimon knew what to do. Turning around he shouted, "FIREBALL!" for the second time that night.

A ball of bright, red, hot fire came at Renamon at an amazing speed, she had no time to move before she was hit, being thrown several feet in the air.

"Renamon!" Ruki called out in alarm. Her digimon landed on the ground with a soft thud.

She waited. Her partner did not rise. Ruki turned back to the boy and his digimon.

They were gone.

******

Matsuda Takato waked down the street slowly. The slower he walked, the longer it would take to get there, the longer it took to get there would mean the longer it was before he had to enter the classroom, and introduce himself. At least that's the way it worked in his mind.

He was being followed, and he knew it, but he'd humor them for now.

Besides, he was more worried about other things. Those things being, school. He was not worried of the work, nor how strict his new teacher would be (Takato's grandfather was probably worse then any of them when it came to school work, and paying attention), or being late. No, he was more worried about the students there. There were a few people he'd rather not met up with again… If they asked question he would deny them answers. It was that simple.

He had arrived now, the school standing tall in front of him. Small kids ran around playing tag and other simple games. Most of the older girls walked around in groups chatting about silly things like boys, and make-up. Where the older boys hug out with each other and played the card game…

He was tempted to turn around a head back home. Not his home here, but back on the island. That was his real home…

But he knew he couldn't. If he was right something big was going to happen soon, and he would need to be here when the time came.

His senses told him that his stalker had followed him this far, and that he was hiding in the bush to the left of him. He turned to that direction, sighing inwardly. "Guilmon," He stated, "You can come out now."

He had followed him all this way, Takato knew, but really didn't mind. He had told Guilmon yesterday that coming to school would be a bad idea; they'd both be in trouble if someone saw him. But Guilmon hated being separated from Takato, and Takato felt the same way about Guilmon. In a way it wasn't really a problem, Guilmon wasn't stupid, he could hide himself well, when needed too.

Guilmon slowly crawled out of the bush he had been hiding in. He looked up into his partner, defiance in his eyes, "I'm not going home." He stated, in a voice which sounded so different from the one he usually used.

Takato looked down at him, a brief smile appeared on his face, "Who said I was going to make you?" Amusement was laced through his words, and Guilmon looked at him confused.

It seemed to him that Takato's moods could change in a blink of an eye, and they often did. From happy to sad, from sad to angry. Guilmon usually didn't mind it, but sometimes it could be awfully confusing…

Takato saw his confused look, and shook his head, "Don't worry about it Guilmon." His face turned back to its normal frown, "But stay hidden for now, understand?" 

Guilmon nodded his head, and Takato continued, "The last thing we need right now is for some innocent bystander to see you, and go telling the whole neighborhood." His words were firm. "When the bell rings and the other kids go inside, then you can look around, but not until then." He finished, and Guilmon nodded once more before slipping into the bush again.

Takato looked up at the school again, before looking down at the watch on his wrist. 8:27AM, he had only a few minutes left. Hopefully it'd be enough time to find his classroom. Hopefully, it didn't have any old friends in it.

Slowly he walking on to the grounds, maybe if he was lucky he could avoid running into people he didn't want to see, sadly, luck wasn't on his side to today.

"Hey, dude!" Someone grabbed his shoulder from behind him, "Your new here aren't you?"

Takato whipped around quickly to face the person that had grabbed him, he hated being touched. To his both his shock and anger, it was Hirokazu.

He tried to speak, but really wasn't sure what to say. What this really Hirokazu? Yes, his mind told him, it had to be him… He wore the same clothing that he had wore five years ago, the same visor, the same black shirt with the golden cross, the same grin, like the one he wore whenever he'd beaten Takato at the card game…

But Hirokazu didn't realize it was him… Takato could easily understand that, he doubted many of his friends would recognize him. Five years had past, and in that time Takato had grown a lot, the silver hair didn't really help matters. But Takato wanted to believe that Hirokazu changed over the years, hopefully for the better. 

Takato still hadn't replied to Hirokazu's question, but the boy didn't really seem to care. "Whatever, you must be new, I've never seen you before."

"Well I'm not exactly new here... More like returning home... Now if you don't mind... I gotta get to class." With that Takato was heading towards the school doors. Hirokazu didn't seem to get the hint, he was following close behind him. "So where did you live before coming here?" He asked.

"On a small island with my grandfather." Takato replied coldly.

"Oh, cool I guess." He shrugged off Takato's cold reply, "So why did you come back?" Maybe he hadn't meant to sound rude, but Takato was getting the feeling that Hirokazu was just trying to get under his skin now.

"My grandfather been home schooling me since I was about 5, he decided that it would be a nice change for both of us if I came back to go to school here." Well it wasn't really a lie…

"And what's with the silver hair, and goggles? Man, don't you have any fashion sense whatsoever?!"

Takato grit his teeth to stop him from barking out his reply, he didn't need to be showing off his temper this early in the morning. But it didn't matter; Hirokazu was off again, firing another question at him.

"Hey? Who are you staying with here? Do you even have parents, or were they just so bored of you that they shoved the responsibility of a kid onto your grandfather?"

It's took all of Takato physical energy, not to fire his fist straight into Hirokazu's nose, instead he snapped at him, "Why do you care?!" 

"Sheesh, what's your problem? I'm just asking if why your parents aren't here… What they dead or someth-?" That was all Hirokazu could say, as a fist impacted into his face…

"Never speak of my parents like that, Hirokazu." Takato was glaring now.

Hirokazu's nose was bleeding by now. "How the hell do you know my name…? You know you kind of look like that sore loser Takato… But with silver hair." He noticed Takato's frown at that remark. "That's it isn't it... Your Matsuda Takato... And here I thought the rumor were just that, but you really did run away after you father killed your mother, didn't you?!" 

Takato lost it... He was going to make Kazu pay...NO ONE speaks of his past that way! Takato threw another punch and Hirokazu retaliated with a swift blow to the gut that knocked the wind out of Takato.

"STOP IT!" A girl got in the way of the two brawlers. Takato couldn't stop the punch he had thrown seconds prior to her intervening... He hit Hirokazu one last time, making him land a few feet away. 

The girl ran to go see if her friend was okay, before glanced at Takato to try and find remorse for his actions... There was nothing of the sorta, his face only showed that hate, anger, and betrayal that had been their since Hirokazu's first remark.

Takato then proceeded across into the building… Missing the faint whisper by the girl... "Is that you Takato…?"

*******

Lee Jenrya sat down in his seat, and watched as the other students around him sat down as well. Miss Asaji was going to enter the room any minute now, and that was probably the only reason the room was so quite. Miss Asaji hated to be kept waiting, and it meant detention to anyone who dared to try. 

Jenrya looked around the room, a few of the students were missing, and he guessed that they would be the ones in detention today.

Miss Asaji had finally entered the room, and the few whispers that had been heard before disappeared like nothing.

"Class," She spoke loud and clear to get the attention of anyone who hadn't been listening before, "we have a new student joining us today. His Name is Matsuda Takato, and he's coming from the island of Okinawa."

The teacher moved aside, and Jenrya watched as a short boy entered the room. He was about Jenrya's age, with maroon eyes, and silver hair, for some strange reason he wore a pair of goggles on his head, but no one commented, it looked like the boy had already had his share problems for the day, and the deep frown on his face proved it.

"Mr. Matsuda any words to your fellow classmates?"

Takato shook his head from side to side. Miss Asaji looked rather shocked at his response, but covered it up by giving him a seat by the window.

The boy sat down quietly with the rest of the class and Jenrya watch him warily, as did the other kids. He was different, Jen could give him that much. Their were very few students that would give up the chance to talk about themselves in front of the class, but then again, Takato didn't seem to be the big ego type.

Maybe he was shy? He doubted it. The deep frown he wore was not one of a shy person. He was thinking of something, something of great importance by the looks of it.

That's when three people walked in, Juri, Hirokazu, and Kenta. Jenrya didn't know any of them all that well other than the fact that they we're about to be in big trouble in a few moments. Miss Asaji usually gave out worse detentions for being tardy, than for talking or not paying attention in class, and she looked up when they entered the room. 

"Hirokazu!" She exclaimed, when she saw him, "What on earth happened to your face?" Looking at him you could tell that his nose had been bleeding just a few minutes before, and he had a black eye to match.

He shrugged, "I got into a fight." Both Kenta and Juri were watching him with worry. "I'll be fine though," He insisted.

The teacher didn't ask anymore questions after that, and sent them to their seats with a warning that if they were late again they would be doing bucket duty. 

Each of them quickly headed for their seats, but at the same time they seemed to be looking for someone. From their reaction, Jenrya guessed they had found what they were looking for. All three of them sent looks at Takato. Hirokazu watched him with an icy glare, Kenta with a look of confusion, and Juri with one of hurt.

Had all three of them known Takato before? Or had it just been a bad meeting for the three of them. Either way, they didn't look happy about Takato's arrival in their class, and through this whole ordeal, Takato didn't look up once. It was obvious that he was ignoring them.

Jenrya turned to face the teacher again, he really didn't want to be one of the few to get caught staring at Takato, and by now, he could tell they boy wasn't enjoying the attention.

To pass the time he wondered about Terriermon, and prayed to himself that the little dog/rabbit type digimon hadn't gotten in trouble. He sighed to himself; Terriermon would rather stir up trouble then try and lie down... Even for a moment. He could only guess what trouble Terriermon was trying to cause this time, and hope that he didn't he wouldn't be the one punished for it in the end…

******

"Dang it Jen, I knew I'd get bored,"

In truth Terriermon was worse than bored. Right now the seconds seemed like minutes, the minutes like hours, and the hours like days.

It didn't help that he was hungry. Jenrya always seemed to complain about him trying to eat him out of house and home, but it wasn't his fault! He was a growing digimon, he needed lots of food!

"Oh well… I guess a short nap couldn't hurt…" He yawned; he'd been woken up waaaaaaay to early for his liking… And just so that he could go to school with Jen, what a waste of his time. He leaned up against the trunk of the oak tree he was sitting in, and slowly began to drift off… That's when he heard it.

The crunch of leaves being step on from below. He could just barely hear it, but he knew on thing: Something was definitely down there.

Slowly he perched himself in a spot where he could look downwards without falling out of the tree.

It was a digimon, red in color, but that's all he could really tell. But he'd saw him, it's yellow eyes looked into his green ones. Terriermon froze, silently praying that this digimon was weaker than it looked. But then it was gone… Vanishing without a trace…

"I have a feeling Jen's going to want to hear about this…"

******

*Damn it,* I thought to myself, still staring out the window like I'd had been doing for the past hour, *this one of the reasons of why I left…*

I could feel everyone looking at me. My childhood friend; Juri. One of my original friends; Kenta, and that jerk Hirokazu… Not to mention the blue haired boy that sits far to my right.

Juri wants to know what has happened since I last saw her, telling by the look she gives me. It's almost as if she's waiting for something… Waiting for me to become what I once was...

I turned away to avoid the looks I was getting and looked out the window to my left, and noticed that outside it was cloudy, much like that day I'd decided to return…

***Flashback***

They stood on the beach, the waves barely hitting their bare feet before being drawn back into the depths of the ocean. Both of them watched at the sun set and it fall behind the great mountain in front of them.

The Silver haired boy turned to his friend. "Growmon... You feel it don't you?" 

The Dragon replied with a Simple nod of his head. 

"Growmon, I know how you feel about this... But I don't think you should be in that adult form of yours... I didn't design it to really be that small, and we don't wish to draw attention to our selves."

Growmon nodded again, in understanding this time... Suddenly, glowing so bright much his form was indistinguishable... And once where Growmon stood was a smaller Dinosaur like Digimon. "Thanks Guilmon... lets go."

The boat was waiting for them, and they moved quickly. Neither of them looked back.

***End Flashback***

*SLAM* 

I woke up to see the teacher glaring at me as well. "I don't care if you're new here or not Mr. Matsuda, rules are rules. Now go out and hold the buckets till I send someone to get you."

Some of the girls giggled, where the boys like Hirokazu smirking. All but one of course, that kid with the blue hair...Jenrya watched in part worried. "Poor kid…" I heard him mumble.

Getting up, I headed out into the hallway and picked up the buckets… "Today is definitely not my day," I muttered.

******

Elsewhere, in a digital plain, a tiny digimon was found dodging attacks from a MetalTyrannomon. 

The android digimon, MetalTyrannomon, was almost like a normal Tyrannomon, but was black in color, and covered with a think armor of wires that seemed to take over every part of his body. His expression was one of rage, as she attacked the little digimon, intend on deleting it and taking its data to become stronger.

The digimon he fought was the exact opposite when it came to this other horrible beast. He was short, but cute, with white fur, and purple for the tips of his ears and feet. His bright green eyes were lit up with complete innocents, and he didn't seemed to get why MetalTyrannomon was attacking him. But the most interesting thing about this digimon was the small triangle on his forehead, it was red in color and seemed to stand out above all else.

"Culu! Whoa, watch where you're pointing that thing!" He cried out as MetalTyrannomon fired another Fire Blast II.

The MetalTyrannomon paid no attention to the digimon's demands, and shouted, "Nuclear Laser!" The blast just missed the other digimon by just inches. 

"Hey! What did I even do to you!?"

The MetalTyrannomon ignored the digimon, and attacked him once again. That's when the symbol on the digimon's forehead because to glow a bright red, and a portal opened in a flash of blue and purple. The MetalTyrannomon was forced to shield his eyes from the light with one of his large claws, but not prepared to give up he fired another Nuclear Laser.

There was a cry of, "Culu!" the light faded, and when MetalTyrannomon unshielded his eyes, the digimon was gone.

******

Please review!


	3. Unexpected Discoveries

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N/: Thanks again for the lovely reviews, but I had to comment on a few of them:

- "Hirokazu is acting too much like a smug asshole for my tastes. Tone him down a bit please. Show us what made him such a friendly character in the anime."

Trust me, you'll get to see some of the nicer Hirokazu later in the story. He was just attacking that way due to Takato's rude behavior towards him, I didn't just do that to make him look like the bad guy. Besides at the start of Tamers, Hirokazu did act like a smug asshole a few times. ^_^;;;

And for people who are wondering, YES, Takato has a normal digivice now, he is no longer a Tamer, he's a digidestined! Sheesh, and here I thought that was obvious! -_-"

And about two people who commented on mistakes they though were made, they're really not mistakes at all ^_^ In the original version of Tamers all the kids (other than Lee's sister) are ten, and also in the original version Growlmon IS spelt Growmon.

Chapter Three: Unexpected Discoveries

******

"What did that goggle-head mean!" She yelled angrily to herself, taking both her backpack and jacket out of her locker, before slamming it shut. Behind her she heard the giggling of girls her age, and she spun around to face them. 

What do you want?" She asked the girls, her response filled with venom. 

She knew all three of them from different classes, each one was stuck up, ignorant, and boy crazy. In Ruki's book: snobs.

"Oh," The oldest of the three stepped up to her. "We just heard that you have boy troubles, has Ruki finally developed a crush?" The other two snickered.

Ruki sent then a glare. The girls were unfazed. "Is that really any of your business?" She asked coldly. The other girls just smirked in return.

"We just thought you might like a little bit of he-"

Ruki had cut her off, "Look," She snapped. "When I need your help, I'll ask for it. Until then: Bug. Off." With these last words she pushed past them and was gone before they got another chance to speak.

A cool breeze wash over her as she walked home, the words from the mysterious 'Tamer' kept on repeating in her head….

"Digimon aren't just data, they're living things."

"Digimon aren't just Data? That can't be right..." Ruki she muttered, still heading for home. "Why couldn't my stupid D-arc work and tell me what his Digimon was!?"

Anyone who was in Ruki's way either moved out of her way, or just plain was shoved away. Ruki was in no mood to deal with people, especially after her joyful meeting at school. The only thing she wanted was to know who was the arrogant "tamer" who refused to battle and berated her of all people on what Digimon were.

She was the Digimon Queen, and the Greatest Digimon Card player in all Japan. No one should know more about Digimon then her, and yet… And yet this one boy… *Tamer,* She corrected herself mentally. But wait… Was he even that? 

The only thing he had held in his hand was one of those season one digivices, but those were just cheap toys! They'd been out for at least 5 years now, (she had bought one of her own) and after a while, kids started getting bored of them like they usually did. She doubted the company even sold them any more!

She then thought back to that battle… *He hadn't slashed a card through out the whole battle!* 

"No… He couldn't be a Digidestined... That's only make-believe… It's only a T.V. anime…" Still, she had to wonder…

She didn't even realize the fact that she was home, she'd been too deep of thought.

"Damn you goggle-boy! Who the hell are you!?"

******

The final bell rang out sharply, giving the dismissing the students for the day. Takato got out of his seat and heads out the door and Jen followed closely behind him, quickening his pace to keep up him.

Takato ignored the Jenrya, and headed for the locker had been given that day. He opened it before finally looking up. "What?" He asked sharply.

Jen was slightly startled at Takato's reaction to him, but wasn't going to give up in his attempt of friendship. "Hi, I'm Jenrya, I guess your new here," He spoke, slightly nervous, as Takato's eyes bore into his.

Takato looked away, starting to react into his locker for his things, "Yeah? So?"

"Well I just thought that since your new and all, I could show you around, that sorta thing," Really Jen felt sorry for the kid, not only did he have no friends but he seemed to have gained enemies over the day as well. Hirokazu didn't seem to be the most forgive person, but still… He didn't know what Takato had done in the first place to receive this treatment.

"No thanks," Takato replied, but he didn't seem angry. By now he'd taken out the books he'd need for homework that night, as well as his backpack, and he slammed his locker door shut. "Don't you have to get your stuff from your locker?" He asked Jenrya.

"Well… Not really, I already have it," He pointed to the backpack he had on his back, and frowned inwardly, it was almost as if the boy was try to get rid of him.

Takato looked almost disappointed, and Jen clued in that he'd been right, he had been trying to get rid of him. "Whatever."

He was out the door before Jenrya had a chance to protest, and heading home. Jen sighed before following, *What is with this guy?* He wondered to himself, *He acts as if he'd rather do the buckets again then talk to me…* He could tell that Takato knew he was being following, because he could see how he glanced back at him every few minutes or so. *He seems worried about something…* 

Still… He wasn't interested in letting this boy out of his sight, something drew him to this boy, and he was quite interested in finding out what it was… Needless to say, he followed closely behind him.

******

Takato was indeed worried about something, and that something was big, red, and had many sharp teeth and claws. *Guilmon, I sure hope your smart enough to know you should stay hidden…* Takato could hear him breathing softly in the bushes next to him, but what if he didn't know about Jenrya? Guilmon was well known for his enthusiasm, but what if he jumped out with usually, 'TAKATOMON!' type greeting? Jenrya was bound to ask questions… Either that or run off screaming…

He decided to slow down to let the boy catch up with him, *Well if he's so eager to learn about me…*

Jenrya looked confused at this action until Takato spoke, "Well since you want to know so much about me…" He sighed, "Come on."

He got lucky, Guilmon had obviously sensed Jenrya's presents and still hid in the bushes, and the two walked side-by-side now.

They reached what looked to be Takato's house within a matter a minutes, and Henry gapped at it. Takato knew it wasn't exactly a pretty sight, two of the windows were broken, one of them being his bedroom window, and most of the paint was peeling. It didn't look like anyone had been living there for years now, and Jenrya seemed to think the same thing.

"Whoa, what happened to this place?"

Takato shrugged, not interested in explaining, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you Jenrya."

"Look Takato," Jenrya looked him in the eye. "All I want to know is the truth… No matter how odd it sounds." 

Takato's eyes widened briefly, and then a smile came to his face, the one that had been seen only by Guilmon for about five years now. "You know Jen, since I came back here your the first one not to judge me." Takato's eyes seemed to darken, and a faint red aura seemed to float around him. Takato didn't seem to notice, nor care. "My parents died five years ago… A digimon killed them both." He looked up sharply and saw the looked that Jenrya was giving him.

"What do you take me for Takato...a fool? Digimon are a card game, it's not real." Still… He didn't sound to sure himself.

By now the red aura seemed to have faded, and if left them both to wonder if it had been there to begin with. A kinder look appeared on Takato's face. "Guilmon," He called. "You can come out now."

Jenrya looked dubious; surely this boy couldn't have a digimon as well… That's when a voice came from the bushes.

"Are you sure Takatomon?" There was the sound of leaves rustling, "You did tell me to stay hidden…"

Takato almost laughed at how naïve his digimon was, and the looked on Jen's face. Almost.

"Yes," He replied, "I'm sure."

"Well okay… If you say so." Guilmon stuck his head out from the bush next to Takato's place, and Jen got a good look at Takato's rather large dinosaur digimon.

******

Jen had been shocked enough for one day, and "Guilmon" didn't help matters. He was like no digimon he'd ever seen before. The first thing that came to mind when he saw him was dinosaur, because that's exactly what he looked like. He was red in color, with a white belly that seemed to have the black marking of the digital hazard sign. He also had a black strip on each arm and leg, and one on his tail to match. 

He watched the digimon in awe as it came over to Takato and sat down beside him "So are you a Digimon Tamer?" It seemed to be the only question that could come to mind now that he knew the boy had a digimon like him.

Takato frowned slightly, "What's that?"

Jens eyes widened considerably, "You don't know what a Tamer is? Don't you have a D-arc?"

Takato looked as confused as ever, and Guilmon's emotions seemed to match his own "Not exactly… And what's a D-Arc?"

He dug in to his pocket, searching for his own D-Arc. *Where is it…?* Finally he found it, and showed it to Takato. It was a white device with a green rim around it. "This is it. Don't you have one like it?"

"No, sorry." Takato shook his head, before pulling something out of his own pocket, "I only have this." It was a digivice, much like the ones from season one on the digimon TV show, the only difference was that it was black in color.

"Hmm…" He looked over the digivice, before holding out his hand. "Can I see it?" Takato looked dubious but handed it to him. Jenrya took his time in examining it, before handing it back to him, "I've seen things like that before," He commented. "They sold them a few years back didn't they? I remember my dad getting me one."

Takato had gone back to being defensive, "It's not a toy!" With speed he managed to grab it from Jenrya's hand and snatch it up into his own.

"Calm, down!" Jen spoke, a frown on his face, "I didn't say it was one."

"Well you implied it." Was the only response he got in return.

He sighed, "Forget it, we ne-"

He was interrupted by the voice of another digimon, "Jen!" Terriermon was seen running down the street towards him, and in one swift movement he managed to jump from the sidewalk into his partners arms. "Terriermon!" Jenrya shouted in surprise. Takato and Guilmon just watched the two.

"Where were you!?" Terriermon asked him sounding more than a little annoyed. "I waited for over 15 minutes!"

"Sorry Terriermon," He looked sheepish, "I guess I sorta lost track of time."

But Terriermon didn't seem to notice his response as he continued on, "And THEN, I saw you walking home with HIM!" He pointed to Takato, "Does the words, human and digimon relationship mean nothing to you!?"

"Hey! I said I was sorry!"

Terriermon pretended to be hurt, "Nevermind, I can see that doesn't. I'm sorry to say our friendship is over. I'm sad it had to end this way."

Henry rolled his eyes, "Sheesh, talk about being dramatic."

Takato finally spoke, "I'm guessing you two are partners?"

Terriermon spoke up for both of them, "Sad, but true!"

He rolled his eyes again, "What he said."

Terriermon seemed to have noticed Guilmon by now, "Well, hello… I seem to remember meeting you earlier today." He commented.

Guilmon cocked his head to one side, clearly not remembering.

Terriermon looked at him funny, "Oh come on! Don't tell me you can't remember!"

Guilmon still looked clueless, which Takato looked angry. "Guilmon, I told you to make sure you weren't seen!"

Another clueless expression. "Sorry Takatomon… I forgot?"

Takato shook his head, "Don't worry about it, there's nothing we can do about it now."

Jenrya was still frowning at Terriermon, "How come you didn't tell me you saw a digimon!?"

"Well you didn't exactly ask…" Terriermon trailed off.

******

"Where am I...? Culu." 

*Everything is so new and different, I just wanna sing, and shout, and bounce around! This new world is soooooo exciting! Nothing like my world! There they only have big, mean, ugly monsters trying to eat you all the time, or turn you into tiny bits of data! I like this place much better! But where were all the digimon?*

I got to my feet slowly and looked around… There was no one here! "Hello!?" I called out loudly, "Anyone there!?"

No answer…

*It was pretty here, and big tree and bushes stood around me, green everywhere! But where was everyone…? Slowly I walked over to the bushes, maybe someone in there could help me?* I heard the slight rustling of leaves…

"Hello?" I asked again, cautious this time, "Is anything in there? Culu?" I leaned over slightly, trying to look through the big, green, leaves. And someone grabbed on of my ears! "Culu! You big meanie! Let go! Let go! Let go! Let go!!!!!" I tugged really hard, and eventually that big, old, mean thing let go of me. 

I feel over, still clutching my ear, and the thing in the bush laughed. "Culu, now why'd you go and do that?" I asked, a slight whimper in my voice. 

A head popped out of the bushes... It was fury and had floppy ears.... A tiny Garurumon? It was white with black spots...

"Hi! I'm Culumon... What's your name?" I asked, trying to be nice to the new friend I seemed to have found. The garurumon-look alike cocked its head to the side looking at me in confusion. Then it attacked me! Fury Lick? That's sorta like what it felt like… 

I pat it on the head, this time I'm the one feeling confused… "Boy you're a strange digimon, aren't you?" It's barks once in response, and I jump back and fall over in my surprise. "Hey! Culu!" 

The ruffmon(?) just looked up at me again, a smile on his face this time. I started to turn and walk away, I didn't want to play with him anymore! He let me leave, sitting down and wagging his tail.

That's when I heard a noise! A digimon? It sure didn't sound like one! 

"Yasha?!" I heard the voice again, and it sounded like it was coming closer! "Yasha, where are you?!" The Ruffmon still sat there, tail waging.

A young girl came out of the bushes to the left, and I jumped up in surprise, she scared me! But did seem to notice me either… "Yasha, there you are! You're not supposed to run off like that!" I was confused… Why was she yelling at Ruffmon? He hadn't done anything bad!

"Hey!" I flew over to her and sat on her shoulder, "Why are you yelling at him?" I think she noticed me this time because her eyes got really big! Sorta like dinner plates! After that she looked sorta funny,,, Maybe she wasn't feeling well? "Are you okay, culu?" I asked.

She turned a funny white sorta color, and then her eyes rolled up into the back of her head! That's when she sorta fell! I tried to catch her but she was was too heavy! She almost turned me into a pancake!

I struggled to get out from beneath her before turning to look at Ruffmon, he watched both of us, still wagging his tail. *What a weird digimon…* I though before nudging the girl with one of my toes. "Culu, are you okay?" She didn't answer me.

Then Ruffmon began barking again! What an awful sound! I covered my ears but could still hear it! "Culu, I don't like you any more!" 

I extended my ears and took to the air, these people were to weird for my tastes! "Culu, what else is there to see…"

******

"Ow! Damn that kid, what was that for?" I sat in the "Clubhouse" that both Kenta and I had found a little over a year ago. Kenta was by my side with a fresh ice pack. I pulled out a card from my Supreme ultimate Titan Deck, it was the treasure of that deck a Rare ImperialDramon Paladin mode. *I couldn't remember the kid I got it from... I remembered him acting like a totally loser though! Wait? Wasn't it Takato? Na, he never had THAT good of a card.*

My stomach suddenly felt odd as I realized that it WAS his card. Those areas he hit seem to sting at my sudden realization…

"Hey Hirokazu?" Kenta snapped me out of it. "You okay?"

I nodded, "I'm fine."

Kenta looked doubtful but I ignored him for the moment.

*Na,* I told myself, *I won it fair and square, he was being the whiny little baby trying to get it back... And it didn't help when accused me of cheating...* I frowned as I remembered his futile attempts to try and get his cards back.

I pulled out the other cards I had in storage from him... They were in a Shoebox I kept here. But out of all of the cards I had won, five of them baffled me to this day.

Growmon, Meglo Growmon, Megidramon, Dukemon and a strange Blue Card.

"Wait, I don't remember a blue card in any boosters… Still I don't remember those other cards either..." 

Kenta frowned, "I haven't seen any of them before… Hey," He suggested, "why don't you try slashing in through your card reader?"

I shrugged, "If you say so…" I took out my card reader, and picked up the strange blue card.

I pulled out my Card Reader...

As I picked up the Blue Card I felt a calmness enter me. It was weird… Still, I held the card in hand firmly, and finally slashed it. Strangely it felt as if I were almost being rejected, my entire body seemed to be on fire and it burned painfully. I tried to drop it but I just couldn't it was almost as if we were being connected, and then… It just stopped. Kenta was watching me with worry now, but I was too interested now it what had happened to my card reader. My card reader's data was completely scrambled! "Damn it Takato," I mumbled under my breath, "you're still annoying me even when you not here…"

Kenta rolled his eyes from his spot beside me, "Honestly Hirokazu, you don't really think he's to blame for wreaking your card reader?"

"Well it was his card!" I retorted.

"Which you cheated from him!" He shot back.

As we bickered, I failed to notice the fact that my card reader was starting to glow… 

"Hirokazu-" Kenta had noticed it though, and pointed to it. It WAS glowing a bright, white light that seemed to get brighter with every second that went by. That's when it started to change shape, molding itself into something completely different…

When the light cleared, both Kenta and me where amazing to find a copper rimmed, white device had replaced my card reader.

"Whoa… Sweet!" I looked the device over.

"What is it?" Kenta asked, reaching over to touch it.

"Hey!" I cried, "Get your own!"

"Well, sorry." He huffed, "I just wanted to hold it for a second."

"Whatever," I threw the device over to him, and he caught it in both hands.

"This is so cool!" He exclaimed, "I wonder what it does!"

I shrugged, "How should I know, I only got it just now."

"Hirokazu…" He trailed off, "I think it's broken…" 

I looked at him in alarm before snatching the device away, "What did you do to it Kenta?!" 

"Hey!" He protested, "I didn't do anything! It was like that when you gave it to me!"

"Yeah right," I commented, staring at the screen of the device, it was grey with static, almost like a broken T.V. 

I sighed, "Look," I said, "I have to be getting home, so we'll worry about this tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded, "So are you going to take it home with you?" 

"Of course I am! What, you think I'm just going to leave it sitting here for someone to take it!? "I was picking up the rest of my cards and stuffing them into my box now, but for some reason I couldn't find the blue card… It had vanished! I shrugged it off for now, maybe I'd find it later…

He shrugged, "I don't know, give it to me?" He suggested weakly.

I sent him a look, "Not on your life, it came from my card and my card reader, so it's mine!"

"Just a suggestion…"

After that we went our separate ways, him heading for his house and me heading for mine. 

"Hey!" I cried out as I opened the front door to my place, "I'm home!"

There was no answer, and I knew that both of my parents were going to be busy with work and stuff for the next little while, they probably wouldn't be home until tomorrow morning at least… The device in my pocket forgotten, I laid down on the couch, I was asleep in seconds…

******


	4. Dreams, Confusion, and a Mystery Solved

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: Yay, another chapter! Sorry for the long wait but I've been busy with stuff, and I'm sad to say that after this chapter, they might be coming out even slowly… When I wrote the first three chapters of this fic (at a relatively high speed), I had a lot of free time on my hands with summer vacation and all, but on September the 2nd I'm sad to say I start school again, and with that going on as well as my social life (yes, I do have one -_-;;) I might not have chapters out as quick as both me and you want them to be out. Thanks for your patience's, and don't worry, I'll try not to take to long!

Disclaimer: Last chapter, in my excitement of writing an extra large author note I forgot to write a disclaimer (though I doubt any of you care ^^)… But sadly, Tatsu's isn't feeling generous today, and has decided to keep his claims on this plot line (though I helped some! =P), so I still own nothing!

Chapter Four: Dreams, Confusion, and a Mystery Solved.

******

Takato sighed; Jenrya and Terriermon had left a few minutes ago. Neither of them had come in, but Jenrya said that they'd 'talk' later. It was obvious from the way that he spoke, that he was glad to have another person with a digimon around.

He explained of the 'wild ones' in the area, and how they usually appeared at night; but that some were know for being seen in the day.

Takato let him explain it all, not bothering to tell him that he already knew the basics. He still didn't full trust Jenrya… Then again, he didn't trust anyone. Well, other than Guilmon. 

Both of them were in the kitchen at the moment, preparing dinner. Nothing special, just some frozen lasagna that Takato had bought from the store yesterday. It was almost finished by now, and Takato grabbed the oven mitts so that he could take it out of the oven.

Guilmon was already seated on the floor beside the table, and after taking it out of the oven, and letting it cool down, Takato spooned out some for both himself and his dinosaur digimon, Guilmon getting the larger portion of the meal.

He put Guilmon's dish down in front of him and watch as he started gobbling it down happily, before finally putting his own dish down on the table, and seating himself in one of the chairs. He wasn't really that hungry…

Looking around the kitchen he noted that it was one of the few rooms that Vamdemon had not totally ripped apart. The front hall was a mess and it was obvious to him that Vamdemon had come back later -most likely looking for him- and had tore apart a few of the rooms upstairs, including his bedroom.

Still… He hadn't bothered to clean up anything yet… He'd been here for over a week now and everything remained in the spot it had been in that night five years ago…

***Flashback***

A smirk appeared on the ghostly face of the Vamdemon as he watched his father try and decide... "I will give you 5 seconds to tell me or she will die."

"5" Vamdemon watched his father in amusement.

"4" He didn't know what to do!

"3" The seconds seemed to go by faster and faster.

"2" Vamdemon paused for a breath…

"1" The ghostly smirk was back.

*Snap* Mie's eyes were opened wide in shock, though she gazed at nothing...

***End Flashback***

"Takatomon?" Guilmon's voice snapped him out of his own thoughts, not seeming to notice his discomfort.

"Yeah?" He answered, only listening half-heartedly.

"Do you like Jenrya?" He asked simply.

"What?" Takato was shocked at both Guilmon's question and bluntness.

"I was just wondering… You haven't had a lot of friends since I became your partner… So is Jenrya an okay friend?"

"Well… Yeah I guess so… He's okay."

"That's good." 

Guilmon was already finished his meal, where as Takato had barely even taken a bite out of his own. Still, he gathered up both plates, and cleaned up the mess of the kitchen before heading up stairs for some sleep. It had been a long day for both of them…

******

It was almost dark out, but Jenrya didn't really notice as he walked home, deep in though. Terriermon had fallen asleep just a few minutes before, and he carried the little digimon in his arms. His mind was elsewhere though… "That can't be right… Digi-Destined are only from the anime… Tamers are the real world types…" 

Unconsciously he pulled out his D-arc, and came to a stop. A street light overhead went on, making it easier to see through the darkness. But he didn't notice, his eyes examining his D-Arc as if dissecting it by sight. "Why does he have a Digivice, where me and Terriermon have a D-Arc?"

No answer came to him.

He pocketed his D-Arc, and knowing that him the answer was not going to come while standing in the middle of the sidewalk doing nothing he started off again, his pace slow and even.

His stomach grumbled, but he ignored it. He should have been home right now, eating dinner… *Stop it,* He chided himself softly, *if I keep thinking like this I'm bound to turn into another Terriermon!* He frowned at though… One was enough. 

Terriermon took this moment to try and roll over, which was practically impossible with the fact of him being in Jen's arms. This act just caused him to wake up instead. "Jen, why'd you wake me?!" He complained rather loudly, and other people on the sidewalk looked around, turned to search for the sound. Terriermon immediately went into doll-mode until the people had either passed, or given up on their search. 

"I didn't do anything! And will you just be quiet for once?" Jenrya asked, trying to keep his cool, "You know what will happen if someone finds out about you!"

Terriermon climbed up onto his head before sulking, "It's not my fault I'm a digimon."

"No," He replied, secretly agreeing, "but it's your fault for being such loud one."

"Hey!" Terriermon complained, "It comes with the natural charm!"

"Natural charm? You?" Jenrya teased.

"Oh laugh it up wise guy! I have charm and you know it!"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever… Look, it's getting late, and I think we better hurry up. My parents are probably worried enough as it is, and I'd sorta like to get home before they call the police…" *Well, if they haven't already...*

With this last though in mind, he quickened his pace to a run, and Terriermon yelped as he was almost thrown off of Jen's head. He reached for the only thing he could find to regain his balance, Jenrya's hair.

"Ow! Terriermon!"

A meek replied, "Sorry."

******

It was dark outside, and street lamps were the only sight of light on the street as Ruki entered the digital field. By her side was her digimon, Renamon, and each of them stood with an aura of confidences around them. They were going to win this battle. 

They waited, and Ruki slipped on a pair of violet sunglasses that matched her eyes, the large shadow of a digimon came into view… 

It was a dinosaur digimon, that much she was sure of… It stood tower above both her and her digimon on it two strong legs; it's skin almost completely orange, other than the thin blue strips that mixed in with the orange. Over it's head it wore a brown, skull like helmet, with three horns attached. But it's eyes… It's eyes seemed to lost their fiery red color for some reason and instead seemed to be white, a blank look on it's face.

Ruki pulled out her D-Arc. "Greymon; adult, special attack; Mega Flame."

Renamon glared at the digimon, prepared to attack when she was told to. But she could tell there was something different about this digimon… Something wrong… Very wrong. She just couldn't figure out what it was…

"Renamon… You know the drill."

"As you wish Ruki."

The Opposing Digimon made his gigantic form lean back as a bright red light started to emerge from his mouth. 

"MEGA FLAME!"

Renamon easily avoided the ball of fire Greymon launched as she jumped into the air, using her agility to her advantage.

Ruki pulled out a card... But then put it away... This Digimon wasn't worth her slashing a card.... It must have just recently evolved, and besides it was so slow it had no chance against Renamon's speed. 

The Greymon must have realized this and had taken the next best course of action. He, like the other two would not give up so easily, and he's next shot was fired directly at Ruki.

He shouted again. "MEGA FLAME!"

The giant ball of fire was coming directly at her, the Greymon saw it, Renamon saw it, and Ruki saw it. But she was scared stiff… She didn't know what to do… She felt as if her entire body had gone numb…

"Ruki!"

She felt the intense heat as the fire blast, just missed her. Renamon had tackled her and they both hit the pavement, Ruki on the bottem. 

Renamon rose, clearly un-hurt, and she looked at the large Greymon that seemed to be waiting for her to make the next move, before looking back at her Tamer. "Ruki, are you okay?"

Rika's shoulder stung, and she had ripped her shirt in that area. She knew she'd be feeling that tomorrow, but now it didn't matter. She got to her feet. "I'm fine! Now get him!" Bright red flames, slowly licked at the pavement beside her before disappearing like nothing, only leaving the faint smell of smoke… 

Her partner nodded, not really expecting anything less from her partner. Swiftly she jumped behind the giant adult and leaped into the air… Suddenly pure, white, sharp objects surrounded her…

"FOX LEAF ARROWHEAD!"

The white objects rained upon the Greymon and Ruki watched as the digimon burst into data…

Renamon waited for the sign from her to grab the digimon's data and steal it for her own, but none came… She looked to her partner, waiting in confusion.

Rika didn't know what to do though! Her first reaction was to take the data, but then she remember those boy's words for the second time that day…

_"Digimon aren't just data, their living things."_

Slowly the data disappeared and soon only her and her digimon remained on the dark street. She grumbled only one sentence… "Damn you Goggle-head… Who ever you are…"

******

Takato threw the covers off with a start. Before remembering his dream… A serious look came across his face for a moment before her chuckled. "Ruki… That's three dreams about you already… How did you become my dream girl?" 

His face became serious once again. "But, still… It has to mean something…" 

Looking around his room, he found no sign of Guilmon, nor was he worried. Guilmon knew how to look after himself, and he often went out at night for some free air…

Lying down, he rolled to his side and fell blissfully into darkness once more.

******

She winced as Renamon put a damp cloth on her shoulder, along with a little bit of disinfectant. It HURT, and she tried hard to keep a straight face. She'd cut her shoulder up pretty badly, and though it hadn't hurt that much at the time of the incident, now it was defiantly bothering her.

That's why both Renamon and her sat in her room. Renamon tending to her injury. She felt rather stupid having to ask her own digimon for help, but their had been no way to avoid it. But she knew she couldn't both clean and bandage it on her own, and asking either her mother or grandmother for help would lead to questions. Questions she didn't want to answer.

"Ruki," Her digimon spoke, her voice crisp and clear though the silent, night air. "I can't do this when you keep fidgeting."

Ruki wanted to shoot back a flurry of shouts and insults but held back, instead she spoke calmly, but voicing her opinion. "I'm not a child you know, so don't treat me like one! And besides, this isn't exactly comfortable you know. Bandage it already!"

Because Renamon was behind her, she couldn't see frown that developed on her face but she knew it was there. "You injury needs to be cleaned," She stated, giving Ruki no choice in the matter. 

She waited for what felt like hours, not replying to Renamon as she wrapped her upper arm and shoulder in a tight bandage. Finally she'd finished, stepping away from Ruki and heading for her bedroom window. Ruki stood up as well, rubbing her shoulder gingerly.

"Renamon, wait."

Renamon turned back, looking into her eyes with mild confusion. "Yes Ruki?"

She stared back, "Do you remember the boy we fought last night?"

Renamon grimaces. "How could I forget?" She reached for her stomach, which hurt more than she'd care to admit.

"Do you think you could find him?" 

Renamon looked surprised for a moment. "But why Ruki?"

"I want you to find him so that we can have another digimon battle." She stated, sounding almost angry. "And this time, you'll win, I'll make sure of that."

Renamon frowned, but did not comment, her only response was the nodding of her head. She was thinking about the task at hand… 

After another moment, Renamon spoke her farewells, "Goodbye Ruki," and with that Renamon vanished.****

Ruki was left alone with her thoughts....

***********

Renamon leapt from building to building… Her senses on full alert…

She was searching for something, and when that something caught her eye she knew she had found what she was looking for… Her destination, Shinjuku Elementary… *Besides Ruki's private school this is the only one around,* she noted. *The boy must go here…*

She was determined to find this boy, no matter what the cost. She, like Ruki, believed in her goal to be the best, and Ruki was defiantly not at hers. She hoped to fix that problem… And she believe that her beating the boy's digimon would be the right thing to set her back on track.****

That's when another thing caught her eye, something red. But it swiftly moved to avoid her glance. *Guilmon…*

Renamon followed him, just barely staying out of his sight. But the digimon didn't seem to realize that he was leading her. Right to the boy's home.

He raced away, looking behind he a few times to make sure he wasn't being followed, and missed the sight of Renamon, hot on his trail.

That's when he stopped. In front of an old building from what she could tell, it almost falling apart from the looks of it. The paint was peeling and a couple of the windows were broken. Looking in one of them she could see a young boy… Ruki's age by the looks of it, but with silver hair… This had to be the boy that they had fought, and been beaten by just the other day… This had to be the boy Ruki was so angry at… 

Suddenly she heard growling and looked down to see Guilmon looking up at her, he'd obviously picked up her scent.****

Deciding she had what Ruki requested she retreated, disappearing into the night air like a ghost. She just missed the confused look the red dinosaur gave her…

******

"Good Morning Kazu-san."

What the hell, since when did I sleep with stuffed animals...? No, I won't think about that... I slowly opened my eyes, to find two orange ones staring straight back at me…

"What the-" In my surprise, both the orange-eyed stuffed animal, and me fell off the couch, and I hit my head on the coffee table. "Ow!"

My new talking stuffed animal was in a panic, "Kazu-san!? Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm sorry!"

"Huh?" In my daze I could barely see straight, little lone think, "What are you doing here? You're a digimon aren't you? But that can't be possible!" I shook my head in denial. "Digimon aren't real... That's it! I gotta be dreaming."

I tried testing out my theory, and pinched myself REALLY hard on the arm. It hurt, but looking up I saw that the talking plushie was still there…

Suddenly my 'broken device' started to beep...****

I don't know how I knew it but as if it was calling to me somehow. I reached into my pocket and grabbed it… Bringing the device to my face to get a better look I noticed that the screen was no longer the grey static of a broken T.V. It had a radar of some sort… 

*Maybe it's not broken after all…* I thought to myself. "But then again… What is it?" My question was asked out loud, and the digimon jumped at the chance to answer me.

"It's a tracking device!" He was practically bouncing with excitement. "That little red dot right there," He pointed to the bright red dot on the screen, "is me, you digimon!"

I looked over to the child digimon questioningly... "Hey I don't know why I know," He replied, truthfully. "I just do…"

"So…" I tried to go at this as calmly as possible, "Do I just call this thing a tracking device, or what?"

He shook his head, "I think it's called a D-arc… Not sure though."

I skipped on to my next question. "And… You're my digimon right?"

"Right."

"Why?"

"......"

He seemed confused at my question, so I tried to give a better explanation. "Well, why are you my digimon, and not someone else's?"

"I don't know, I'm just yours…" He seemed upset that he couldn't give me a real answer to my question.

"Hey," I picked him up in my arms, "don't worry about it, it's not your fault."

He immediately perked up.

"So what's your name?" 

"Kapurimon." He answered, happily.

I took the next few minutes to look my digimon over. He was small, no more that a child type digimon, I guessed. His brightly lit, orange eyes, we seem through a metal like helmet, that seemed to cover most of it's body. What wasn't covered was a purple color, or white and purple strips when it came to it's small tail.

"Man, this is so cool!" I spoke my excitement, "My very own digimon!"

That's when the front door opened and closed, and both Kapurimon and me jumped up from our position on the floor.

"Oh shit, my parents are home!"

******

I entered my room and put Kapurimon down on the bed, luckily my reputation around the house would suffer but at least Kapurimon was safe… My mom had believed my excuse, and Kapurimon would now be known as my newest stuffed animal around the house, at least where my parents were concerned.

I believe I had officially dumbfounded them this time… The last time I had slept with a stuff animal had been in second grade, and even then no one knew about that except for them and myself…

I slammed my bedroom door behind me, and locked it, making sure neither of my parents could 'accidentally' barge in on me, and my newfound partner. My parents always tried to get me to help out around the house on the weekends, but usually I try to avoid it, *Saturday is a day to enjoy myself, not to become someone's personal slave.* I though dully.

Quickly heading over to my window, I shut my window blinds as well, to avoid anyone see the two of us through there. 

"Why ya making it so dark in here?" I turned away from the windows to see Kapurimon hopping about. *Sheesh,* I though myself. *He's like a Furbie on sugar high… Well, if you add a metal helmet and a tail…*

*Crash*

In Kapurimon's excitement, he'd knocked over the lamp on my desk, and it fell to the floor…

*Smash* 

I watched in shock as he bounded around the room, knocking the cards I had with me on to the floor… 

"Hey!" I cried, "Watch what your doing!" *Now I know how Taichi and Hikari must of felt when they had Koromon in the first movie…* He kept bumping into things, not paying any attention to where he was going or what he was doing, and I was starting to wonder why my mom or dad hadn't come to check on me. 

Suddenly his bouncing stopped, and he looked at something on the floor in front of him, his eyes growing wider with a type of fear I couldn't place. It was one of my cards. 

The Digital Hazard..." He mummered, before finally looking up, the fear still in his eyes. "Where did you get this Kazu-san?" He demanded, sounding almost angry.

"Whoa, dude…" I replied, slightly shocked by his tone, "It just a card!"

"I'm sorry…" He replied, lowering his tone, "But I need to know where you got a picture of this… And why would you carry around such a thing? The beast that bears the most chaotic sign the in all the Digi-World…"

I looked at him as if he was an alien or something, well I guess he sorta was an alien, but still… *What is he talking about? Any why did he suddenly go from all sugar high craziness, to solemn warrior all of the sudden?* 

"What do you mean by that Kapurimon? I just got the card off a friend." *Or former one for that matter.* I though with a slightly dulled anger.

"The only beast to bear that mark ended up nearly destroying the Digital world…" He paused for a moment, remembering the damage that had been done, before continuing. "He was a gatekeeper of some sort… I'm sorry I can't remember a lot from that long ago... But he was corrupted, and force to follow the darker Digim-" 

I cut him of with a confused stare.****

He looked annoyed but shook his head instead of giving me a better explanation. "Its not important but it is a must we find out where the card was made…"****

"Whatever, I'm going out… Care to come with?" This all just confused me, and I needed some fresh air… And if I remembered correctly from Digimon 01 and 02...****

He nodded, maybe not understanding, but willing to come along for the ride. "Of course Kazu-san, it my duty to protect you." 

I was right... He's my guardian as well as digimon.

**********

Yes, Hirokazu has his own digimon now, and Ruki and Renamon are hot on the trail of Takato and his partner. What's in store for them? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out!

Please review, it means a lot to me!


	5. Enter Impmon The Dark Child Digimon

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: Okay, yeah, I have a few excuses for this chapter being more than a MONTH late, but none of them are very good, so feel free to chuck tomatoes or any other food products at me, during, or at the ending of my long list:

1) School --;;; They're being harder on us students then they were last year, and I have been getting waaaaaay to much homework.

2) I do have a life. And have been trying to expand my line of friends? Okay I know it sounds lame, but it's true!

3) And lastly, I've been being lazy, I'm sorry but it's true --;;; I just haven't been able to full heartedly work on this…I'm working on it now though!

I know…dumb, stupid, me. You can throw things now! ^_^

*People throw various items at the author*

ANYWAY, I just have one more thing to say sorry for …on the last chapter I said that Kapurimon was a child type digimon, when he's only a baby level two ^_^ Really sorry again, and I WILL go back and fix it later!

Sadly no Takato in this chapter but we do get a lot of Jenrya and some Hirokazu! 

Disclaimer: STILL don't own digimon. Big surprise there.

******

Chapter Five: Enter Impmon; The Dark Child Digimon

"Why do I get the strange feeling that someone's watching me…?"

Jenrya sat on a park bench, only partially lost in thought. It was a nice day out, nicer than it had been for a while… For some reason it seemed to be raining a lot more than usual lately… 

It was almost too bad that he had no one to enjoy it with…almost. He knew Terriermon was going to be 'busy' with his little sister for the rest of the day…

Shuichon had snuck into his room early this morning, interested in playing with one of her favorite 'dollies'. She'd spent a good five minutes in there, searched for Terriermon, and thinking that her older brother was still asleep, but he'd heard everything… She had mumbled something about 'princess pretty pants' and there was a muffled whisper of "Jen!" Before everything became silence once more.

He'd almost felt sorry for the poor guy and gone to retrieve him from the clutches of his younger sister, before stopping himself. He needed some free time, WITHOUT his loud mouth digimon around. Terriermon may have been his best friend, but he could still be annoying, sometimes to the point of insanity.

Still… Jenrya couldn't stop thinking about yesterday, the images burning into his memory, the words playing over and over in his head… Takato's 'house', Guilmon, a REAL digivice, and the story that Takato related to him… Or tried to at least.

"Who was that digimon Takato spoke of? As far as I know, no digimon was around five years ago…" In truth the first digimon Jenrya had seen had been Terriermon, only a year and a half ago, and then many more of them after that, most of them ranging from the child, to adult level…

It aggravated him that he could have known the answer, had he not become so… Unbelieving. He even had a digimon of his own, so why could he not believe when Takato spoke of one!?

*Because you didn't want to believe him…* He mentally replied to his own question, *You didn't want to believe that digimon could do such a horrible thing as to kill another being…* 

True, he hated to think of digimon like that, his best friend was one of them, and he knew Terriermon wasn't a killer, he battled other digimon only to protect innocent lives, but no, he would never purposely try to harm something… 

But still his own digimon sometime frightened him… Terriermon WAS a digimon, and with being a digimon he inherited the instincts of one, including the urge to fight… That urge only got stronger when he digivolved… And that's when he got dangerous… He didn't want anyone to get hurt because he couldn't control, no. Couldn't TAME his own digimon…

He couldn't let Terriermon become a monster… 

He shook his head, trying to clear himself of that mental image. Terriermon WASN'T a monster, and would never be one.

…As long as he kept him from digivolving again.

His thoughts came back to the matter at hand… That digimon… He truly was a monster from what he had heard from Takato… But the question still remained…why? Why had this so called 'digimon' burst in on Takato and his parents, killing them both for no other seem than to cause pain? The digimon Terriermon and him fought weren't evil (or so he thought), they seemed more confused than anything, and in some way Jen felt sorry for them… 

But still… just this one digimon that had appeared before all of them, he had to be different, smarter than the others that came here. It had to have come with a purpose… Jen was determined to find out what that purpose was…

If there was one thing he hated was to be left out of something important…and this threat Takato spoke of was just that…a threat.

He was so lost in though that he didn't notice the loud voice of someone calling, "SUMMON FLAME!" or the fact that a small fire had started by his shoe…

Until he smelled the smoke. 

"What the-?" The flame was growing bigger by the second, slowly catching his shoe on fire as well. Attempting to stomp it out, he could hear the loud sound of someone, --*or something* he corrected himself-- cackling.

The fire gone, he looked to where the sound had come from, 'it' being a child type digimon. The digimon sat up in an oak tree, right beside the park bench he'd been sitting at before the fire had started. 

*An Impmon,* He told himself mentally; he had the card at home. It was obvious from both his name and looks that he was an Imp of some sort. He was purple in color, with a white face, and a bandana and gloves, which were red. His eyes were green, and showed both greed and amusement… *Most likely at my expense* Jen though dully. Last of all was a smiley face on the digimon's stomach, except this one seemed to smile showing it's razor shape teeth… 

Jen narrowed his eyes, glaring at the Impmon. *I really do NOT want to deal with this right now…*

The digimon saw he was being glared at stopped his laughing to look at Jenrya, "Whatcha starin' at kid? Never seen a powerful digimon before?" He replied, in an American slang type voice.

By now Jen had removed his burnt shoe, it was pretty much worthless now, and he wasn't amused by the fact that he would be walking home in his sock feet. "What did you do that for?" He demanded angrily, ignoring Impmon's questions.

"What did you do that for?" Impmon mimicked the sentence Jenrya had spoken just seconds before. "Eh, you humans are always so defensive." Jen decided it would be best to ignore the digimon for now, he was no interested in getting into a fight that was likely to get him hurt worse than just a burn shoe. 

"Hey!" Impmon jump down from the tree he had been sitting in before. "Where are you going!? I ain't through with you yet, ya scaredy cat!" He shouted to Jen, mostly try to provoke him into doing something he would regret later on. 

He kept on ignoring him, hoping that the digimon would lose interest and go away; instead he got the thing he was least expecting. 

"Fine! If you going to be that way then you just as stuck up as the rest of those humans!" With that Impmon called again, "Summon Flame!" and a small ball of flame came at him from behind. He turned around startled, and put his hands in front of his face in hope of protecting himself. But fate had other plans in mind…

"No one messes with my partner and gets away with it! BLAZING FIRE!" 

Jen uncovered his eyes to see Terriermon standing in front of him, his mouth open, and using his own flames to shoot Impmon's back at him.

Impmon seemed to be the more shocked out of the two, he jumped in surprise and then pain as his own fireball came blasting back at him. He managed to jump out of the way but he wasn't quick enough and one of his ears was hit, getting badly burned in the process.

The purple digimon spent the next few moments cursing loudly and holding his ear, before looking up, and glaring at Terriermon, "Now why'd you go and do that!?

"I'm not going to let you hurt my partner!" Terriermon responded. He seemed to be thinking for a moment before he spoke again, "Even if he does leave me to be tortured by his little sister!"

Jenrya blushed. *Maybe I should have brought him along after all…* 

Impmon frowned, "I can't believe you! Your taking orders from that human! And for what, huh? What have you got in return?"

Terriermon was still glaring, "I don't need anything in return! Jen's my best friend, and nothing you say is going to change that!"

Jenrya was surprised at Terriermon's loyalty, he'd never heard his partner talk with such compassion in his voice, he really was sure of himself, and it made him proud to have such a digimon.

Impmon made a face, "Fine, keep your pathetic friendship, but you don't know what you're getting in to!" With that he walked away casually, it was almost as if the fight had never happened.

Terriermon looked to his partner in surprise when Jenrya did nothing, "Are we just going to let him get away!?"

Jenrya nodded, "Don't worry about him, he's only a child type, if that." Was it just him or did he see Impmon stiffen at that comment? It was obvious that he didn't like being teased, especial when it came to his size. "Besides, I doubt he could do much damage anyways." Impmon was fuming by now, but neither Jen or Terriermon took any notice.

"Okay…" Terriermon replied, "If you say so…"

Jenrya held out his arm letting his partner jump on and then climb to his head. Terriermon laid on his stomach letting both of his ears to flop down into Jen's face, and the boy brushed them out of the way, allowing him the use of his eyes. "Oh, and, thanks…"

Jenrya couldn't see his partner's face from his position, but could tell he was grinning from ear to ear. "No problem," His voice turned to a more serious tone with only a slight bit of teasing, "Just remember this the next time to think about leaving me with your sister, or I can't promise I'll be there to save you next time."

Jen sweat dropped, "…Right. I'll keep that in mind…"

******

"Look at them…" Yamaki spoke, his voice hard and cold to his surroundings.

He glared at the scene in front of him, a young boy —no older than 10 or 11, he guessed— and a digimon riding upon his head, they were talking, and one of them laughed, both enjoying each others company. 

"They have no idea of what they're getting themselves into…" He muttered under his breath, angry both the child and the digimon. "Or what type of flawed programs they are dealing with…"

The blond man reached into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a headphone receiver. With one swift motion of his hand he activated it.

"Everyone, I want a beacon on those two, both the digimon AND the human. Find out if they're a threat or not, and what their weaknesses are." He demanded. "Yamaki out." 

He pulled his lighter out of his pocket, flicking it open and closes again in a habit he was use too. Open and closed… Open and closes… Open and closes… 

***Flashback***

A younger Yamaki stood at his assigned post at Hypnos, admiring the work done to create the place. He looked around examining the computers…looking for perfection. He found it.

Two girls sat at the front of the room, facing a huge computer. A geographical map on display. The two of them stared at the screen intently, watching for any chance of active. 

But Yamaki continued to admire the sight before him, taking everything in, detail by detail…

A large black dot appeared on the screen.

Instantly the girls began to type faster on their computer keyboards, panic written on their face, Yamaki was the first to pick it up.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, wondering what the cause of the panic was.

"Sir," The red head turned to face him, despite the chair she was sitting in, her long hair falling down her back, "A digimon just appeared on screen, we think it's another wild one."

"Isn't there anything we can do to stop it!?" He asked, his tone of worry…and anger. 

The short hair blond was the one to speak up, not bothering to turn around in her chair like the other had done, "We've tried! But it doesn't even seem to slow down, no matter what we do! The only thing we can do now is to wait…to wait and hope that there is another chance to delete it…"

***End Flashback***

"I was the one in charge there… I should have being paying attention to what was important… I was too confident in my abilities… People died because of that." Yamaki frowned, his eyes hidden from the sunlight by his pair of black sunglasses. If anyone had seen then though, they would have seen the pain in them, the pain of a person who had lost someone close to him… "I made an oath that following morning," He continued, "An oath that stated I would never allow that sort of thing to happen again."

Twelve people had died that night, killed by a digimon…killed because he'd been so foolish as to take so much responsibility and think that he could handle it, foolish enough to let that digimon through the barrier between the real and digital world…. But now he could, and would take that responsibility because as of now it was one of the few things that kept him going. 

He'd lost a friend that night, his best friend in fact. He lost: Shuu Tao. 

He shook his head softly, trying to think of something, anything, to talk his mind off that night… He turned around, intent on reaching Hypnos; there was work to be done, one of the few things in his life he could keep track off.

His steps were quick, busy, business like, and had someone passed by him they would not have recognized him as anything more than a tall, blond hair man wearing a suit. 

No one would have noticed the crystal-like tear as it slipped down his cheek.

******

"Hey, are you coming or what?" Hirokazu called back to his partner, he was lagging behind.

The baby level two digimon perked up immediately, as to not upset his partner, and hurried to catch up with the boy.

Hirokazu's frown turned into a look of amusement. His newfound partner had no arms, nor legs, and still he struggled his hardest to keep up. But still… A frown appeared again from out of nowhere, something was wrong with his partner, he seemed distracted…

He shook his head, trying to free himself of his worries. It was probably just from there talk… Hirokazu got the feeling from Kapurimon would do anything to find out more information when it came to the 'Digital Hazard', and though he didn't exactly understand their current situation, he wanted to help his partner…

Kapurimon had caught up by now and Hirokazu held out his arms, letting is tired digimon jump up into them.

Holding him he could feel his digimon almost shivering, maybe he was cold? But no, that couldn't be, it was almost a hot day today, and he was glad that the weather had finally changed for the better.

But then what was it? A cold maybe? *Great…* Thought Hirokazu dully, *Already one day with my new partner and he's all ready sick! I wonder if it's contagious…*

******

In reality Kapurimon wasn't sick. He could feel…something…and that something was coming closer…

No wait…that something was here.

He hadn't been sure at first, and had been both scared and unsure when he had heard something in the back of his mind. But as it grew closer he knew that he was not imagining things…

It was a digimon.

He could smell it now, it was definately a digimon. He wanted to go after it, he knew it was close, closer than it had been just a few moments before at least, and Kapurimon was not interested in going to the digital world to get his fight. 

The only thing that really kept him in his spot at the moment was his partner…he had a feeling that Hirokazu would be a little upset, if not pissed off, if he decided to run off. But he couldn't help it!

******

A soft growl escaped, and his partner looked down at him. "Kapurimon? You okay?"

Hirokazu never got a response as his partner jumped from his arms, and fell to the ground. After that he was off, taking off at a speed that seemed impossible for such a digimon.

He was forced to run his fastest as he tried to catch up with his digimon partner. "Kapurimon! Wait up!" His digimon act as if he hadn't even heard him. That's when he noticed the fog… 

*That's strange…* He though to himself, why had it suddenly gotten foggy? He put that thought aside, and charged on after Kapurimon.

But the fog was getting thicker, and by the time he had caught up with his partner he could barely see anything. Still…he hadn't run that far! He had to still be in the park… Squinting he looked around, and stopped. His eyes fell on a rather large shadowy outline….

Kapurimon was still right beside him so that left…something else. But from it shape and size he had feeling it wasn't human. *Well, here goes nothing…* Slowly he walked forward, try to get a look at the thing in front of him…he never would have imagined tripping to be an option. But it was, and he did trip, coming down hard despite his slow movements. His D-Arc had flown from his pocket…

And landed on the ground with a soft 'thud!'

It seemed to almost turn itself around so it was pointing to the "thing" in front of him. He watched in awe as it seemed to project a hologram of something…a digimon! "Sabirdramon," He read off, "Virus type. It's attacks are Black Saber and Mach Shadow…" 

Finally struggling to his feet his snatched up his D-Arc and looked to his partner, "Kapurimon! Look out! It's coming right at you!" Indeed the bird-like digimon had took flight and dropped into a nosedive, aiming for his partner.

Unfortunately, his shouting only distracted the baby level two digimon…giving Sabirdramon just enough time to attack.

He wanted to cover his ears to hide from the noise of his digimon screaming in pain. He couldn't watch… *One day…* He though again, *Just one day, and I've managed to put both me AND my partner in danger…*

But he wasn't ready to give up just yet. "Come on Kapurimon! You're my digimon and you must have gotten some of my amazing fighting skills to have become my digimon! I know you can do it!"

Kapurimon gave a forced smile, struggling to get out of the headstand he was in now. "I'll try my best Kazu-san…" He was standing right side up now, and Hirokazu could see the rather large gashes that covered his partner's body. *And that's just from one hit too…*

Kapurimon's eyes lit up, ready and determined to give it his all, he wanted to make his Tamer proud… *This one is for you Kazu-san!* 

"HOWLING HERTZ!"

Hirokazu watched as the metal clad digimon launched it's attack upon the giant black bird…to no effect. The attack didn't seem to even phase the Adult level digimon!

Hirokazu remembered about what he had said before about knowing his partner could win…but…he wasn't so sure anymore.

…And there opponent didn't seem like the type to just leave its target in good health…or alive for that matter. 

"BLACK SABER!"

They were in trouble…BIG trouble…

******

Both Jen and Terriermon were still in the park, Jenrya spent most of his time in silence, watching his surroundings…he didn't think Impmon would be coming back to greet either him OR Terriermon anytime soon, but you could never be to carefully. Terriermon, however didn't seem worried. Still resting on Jenrya's head he spoke loudly to anyone who would listen, meaning: Jenrya. 

"-After that she wanted to play tea party…" He made a face, "Do you have any idea of how embarrassing that was?! She put this little pink dress on me, and it itched like crazy! Not to mention the hat! She didn't even bother to cut out ear holes for me! Boy…you are one lucky Tamer, I swear, if anyone else had even ATTEMPTED to leave me like you did they'd be burnt to a crisp by now!" 

Jenrya rolled his eyes, and continued to watch his surroundings. 

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" Terriermon put on a pained look, "Do you ever listen to me, 'cause it sure doesn't seem like it." His looks turned to one of protest, "Besides, I listen to you when you talk! Even if it is boring old stuff like school!"

Jen frowned, "School's not boring." Terriermon looked down, and gave him a look of total disbelief. "Well…okay, maybe it is, but at least I don't talk as much as some people." He commented, a grin returning to his features.

It was Terriermon's turn to roll his eyes, "I don't talk ALL the time, only when I have something useful to say!"

"Which is...when?" Jenrya asked, almost complete innocence in his voice.

Terriermon pretended to look hurt again, "Hey, I come up with a few useful pieces of information once and I while! Like yesterday when I told you about Guilmon! And what did you do to repay me and my watchful senses? You forget me at school!"

"Hey!" Protested Jenrya, his senses no longer entangled within the tress and bushes of the park, "I though you had forgiven me for that!"

Terriermon leapt to the ground, and crosses his arms over his chest, that amused look flashed in his eyes, "Well, maybe I've changed my mind."

Jen shook his head in disbelieve, "Terriermon…" He expected another witty response, but looked down at his partner when he got nothing. Terriermon was frozen in his spot, arms still crossed over his chest, but a frown on his face. "Terriermon?" 

His partner looked up at him, a hint of worry --and something else…excitement(?)-- in his big green eyes, "I think I smell a digimon."

******

Please review! And I'll try and get the next part out a bit sooner!


	6. Trials and Ordeals

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long everyone. ^_^; But I guess this time I really don't have much of an excuse this time. I've just been really busy with…Well, stuff. Hope you guys don't mind _too_ much…Here's a longer chapter to make it up for it! Sorry the action scenes really suck! ^_^;

Btw, Tatsu-No-Houou was the one that wrote most of the Takato part this time, I only added description to it.

Disclaimer: STILL, don't own digimon, like that's ever going to change… *rolls eyes*

******

Chapter Six: Trials and Ordeals

"Really?" Jen asked in both surprise and disbelief. "I mean are you sure?"

Terriermon looked at him with mocking disbelief, "Hey! Have I ever let you down before?"

Jenrya raised an eyebrow, "Should I answer that or just glare?"

His partner frowned, "I'm serious Jen, there's a digimon around here somewhere!"

"Now when have you ever been serious?"

"Jen…" Terriermon sighed, a sweat drop forming, "Will you just follow my lead for once?"

"Fine," Jenrya agreed, "So, where is this digimon anyways?"

"Just follow the nose!" Terriermon replied happily and took off at a run, leaving Jenrya in his dust.

"Terriermon!" Jenrya shouted to his partner in exasperation, "Wait for me!" He picked up his pace and charged forward. 

Terriermon had decided to take a shortcut and ran off there normal course, and into the bush…this may have been an easy task for a small, child type digimon, but being human and all…Jen was having a few problems…Bushes and trees were getting the way, and as he fought through the his surrounds, he was scratches by numerous branches and twigs, one leaving a small cut along his arm…it stung, a small trickle of blood leaving the wound, but there was bigger matters at hand, and he ignored it, still rushing after Terriermon.

After a few moments he entered a clearing of some sort, the only difference in this one compared to normal ones was the thick fog that seemed to cover everything in it's surrounding… "Terriermon?!" He called again, louder this time in hopes that his digimon would call back…it was obvious that there was a digimon here, and he wasn't eager to be separated from the only thing that could possibly protect him in a time like this.

"Jen! Over here!"

"Terriermon?" He turned to his left, the voice coming from that direction, "Where are you?"

"To your left!"

Jenrya sighed, heading slowly to his left…walking for what seemed like hours on end he finally came across his digimon, "Terriermon!" He cried, dropping down on his knees to pick up the rabbit-dog digimon in a bear hug, "Next time don't run off like that!"

"Um…Jen?" Terriermon coughed slightly, hinting with his eyes that Jen look to the battle going on right in front of them, he did, and almost fell over in shock. 

"What the-?" He spoke in amazed, "Another Tamer?!"

Terriermon smiled happily, "Yeah! Another one to help out the team!"

Jen looked at him funny and Terriermon choice to elaborate, "Well you know how hard it is for me to take down these wild Digimon _especially_ the Adult types…and since you don't want me evolving…" He trailed off, looking sheepish.

Jenrya frowned, and looked to his feet, thinking, "I guess your right, we could use some more help…"

"Exactly! We could use a few more digimon to help us out…not to mention Tamers!" He added hastily and Jenrya's raised eyebrow. They were silent for a few moments, until Terriermon spoke again, "Um…Jen?"

"Yeah? What is it?" The blue-haired tamer looked at his digimon.

"…Don't you think we should help them?"

In truth the Tamer and his digimon didn't look at there best…The brown haired Tamer clenched a device in his hand, one that looked much like Jenrya's own D-Arc, and kept his gaze locked on the battle before him, his teeth clenched in determination. It was obvious that the boy had fallen, because he was covered in dirt, and the knee of his pant leg had been torn open, revealing a dark red color, the obvious sign that he was bleeding. His partner looked worse though, being at what Jenrya only guessed was a Baby two level digimon, he was failing miserably against the Adult type and was covered with bloody gashes where the bird digimon had hit him with it's own attacks.

"I guess we really don't have much of a choice…you ready Terriermon?"

Terriermon looked up at him, a big grin on his face, "As ready as I'll ever be!"

"Okay then!" He took out his D-Arc, "A…Sabirdramon? Well that's new, but nothing we can't handle." Terriermon nodded in agreement, and Jenrya continued, "His attacks are Black Saber, and Mach Shadow, and don't get cocky Terriermon, he _is_ an Adult, and from the looks of it," He glanced at the other Tamer and his digimon, both of them didn't even seem to notice that help had arrived, and the in-training digimon looked as if he was prepared to defend his Tamer at all costs, despite his wounds, "I don't think we're going to be receiving much help on this one," 

Terriermon gave a small smirk, "Don't worry Jen, I got it all under control…"

Jen groaned, "That was what I was afraid-"

He was cut short, as Sabirdramon unleashed yet another attack on the Tamer and his digimon, ""BLACK SABER!"

"Oh dear…"

******

"BLACK SABER!"

*Why do these things always happen to me?* Hirokazu asked himself, watching as his partner got the living data beaten out of him…

*Come on Hirokazu…* He tried coaching himself, for once, not having Kenta, or another one of his friends to do it for him.

*Think of something…there has to be something you can do!* 

Kapurimon was busy giving it his all, but still…it wasn't good enough.

*He needs more power…if only I could enhance him like I would in the card game, Sabirdramon would be no problem!*

"Wait…That's IT!" He shouted in realization, digging through his pockets in search for a good card he could use…

"I'm passed caring about weather this is going to work or not…I gotta do something or Kapurimon's toast…"

Finally he came across a card, and he pulled it out of his pocket…in his nervousness he didn't even both to look at it, just hoping it would be a good enough to put a stop to this battle…

Slashing it through his old card reader, he read of the name of the card in surprise, ""Card Slash! Evolution?!"

A bright light spurted from the D-Arc, and Hirokazu dropped it in surprise, but it didn't stop there…suddenly Kapurimon was glowing too!

"Kapurimon evolve to…Hagurumon!"

Hirokazu took a few steps back, shielding his eyes in a futile attempt to protect them from the blinding light coming from his digimon. 

"What's…going…on?!"

In the flash of an eye, the brilliant light that had once been there was gone. In it's place stood a digimon completely different than the original one, Kapurimon. 

In appearance it seemed to be a large gold gear, floating a few meters off the ground. It's face was that of black with large red eyes that seemed to go perfectly with the menacing look on his face. Along it's side two more gears stood, and Hirokazu's only guess was that they were a type of arms for the digimon…what else would they have been used for?

Still rather shocked, Hirokazu knelt down, and picked up his D-Arc, never letting his eyes break contact with the digimon before him. 

The digimon stared right back at him, looking almost as shocked. It was obvious; neither of them had expected such results from just a card…

Hirokazu finally tore his gaze away to look down at his D-Arc, it was pointing directly at Kapurimon…or what use to be Kapurimon. "Hagurumon, a virus type," He noted. "His attacks are Darkness Gear, and Drag…cool!"

Hirokazu smirked, most of his confidences returning, "Think we can take him down Hagurumon?" He asked his newly evolved digimon.

"Of course Kazu-san," Hagurumon had gained a smirk of his own.

The digimon that had barely managed to be silent for so long, gave off an ear-shattering screech of anger. It was clear that it wasn't going to give up because a pitiful digimon had finally managed to evolve. 

"Okay Hagurumon, go get him!"

"DARKNESS GEAR!" The child type cried out loudly.

Hirokazu's heart leapt as his partner let go a flurry of black gears, all of them locked on their target, Sabirdramon…

…Then felt it plumage again as Sabirdramon countered it, "MACH SHADOW!" The gear attack that had once been powerful enough to maybe destroy the adult, was now no more than particles of data, blown away with the wind.

"Man, I can't believe it!" Hirokazu clenched his fists in anger, "Even after evolving, it still doesn't look like Hagurumon has enough fighting power to win this! I guess it's time to try out my luck with another card…" Slowly reaching into his pocket, his withdrew his cards, searching for the right one… "Hey…you know, that might just work…" He took 3 of the cards out of his deck, ready and prepared to slash them when needed, and put the rest back in his pocket, saving them for later use.

"Okay then… Card Slash! High Speed Plug-in H!

******

Hagurumon was shocked to find himself with a newfound energy and speed, and chose to use it. He shot forward through the air, his mind set on destroying the digimon in front of him. 

Sabirdramon looked angry, and the next attack Sabirdramon sent flying at him, almost sent him running, but Hirokazu managed to silences those fears with another card.

"Card Slash!" He shouted for the third time within minutes, "Defense Plug-in C!"

The black fire that seemed to cover and almost swallowed him in an instant before, now felt like nothing. He blinked in shock, not understanding what had happened, but still ready to give it his all.

"DARKNESS GEAR!" The gears that had been turned into digital data for they're first attempt, finally won out, and both digimon and human alike, watched as the black gears sliced into Sabirdramon's stomach, making him screech, and wither in pain.

"Alright! Go Hagurumon!"

Hagurumon turned away from the withering digimon to look down at Hirokazu, proud that his Tamer was cheering him on. Sadly, the distraction was all Sabirdramon needed to knock the child type digimon out of the air with out of his wings.

******

Hirokazu sighed. "He's defiantly not the sharpest tool in the shed…"

Hagurumon didn't seem to hear him, but instead, slowly managed to lift himself up and off the ground. Finally, using his last bit of speed, he charged once more at Sabirdramon.

The other digimon didn't even seem to notice, both his vision and logic torn away from him, by the pain, he threw random attacks to the left and right, not bothering to find out if they were hitting his enemy.

For what would be the third, and (hopefully) final time, Hagurumon let go another wave of black gears, "DARKNESS GEAR!"

…For a second time, Sabirdramon could do nothing, as the dark gears sliced through him. With one final agonizing screech the bird type digimon burst into data.

The child digimon gave a happy sigh as he lowered himself to the ground, and Hirokazu ran up to him, "Man, you were awesome!" He shouted, patting his digimon on the back, "Hell, I was awesome! With your strength, and my cards I'm sure we can toast any digimon that gets in our way!"

"You think so Kazu-san?"

"Of course!"

******

"…Well, I guess they didn't need our help after all…can we eat now?"

"Terriermon!" 

"Well they didn't!" He insisted.

He Tamer shook his head at his digimon's display, a soft smile playing on his lips, "Is that all you ever think about? Food?"

"…What else should I be thinking about that's more important than food?" Terriermon couldn't help but be dumbfounded, how could anything be more important than food?!

Terriermon waited for a reply, expecting an amazing comeback from his Tamer. Instead…he got nothing.

He looked up to see him staring off in the direction of the two retreating figures, the brown haired Tamer, and his partner.

"…It's never a fun job…"

"Yoo-hoo! Jen?" He tugged on Jen's pant leg, eager for a response.

"Yeah Terriermon?" The blue-haired Tamer looked down in surprise.

"What's never a fun job?"

Jenrya blinked, not seeming to realize that he had just spoken out loud, before dim realization hit. He blushed, and looked away. "I meant fighting, fighting is never a fun job."

"Hey! I think it's fun!"

The Tamer sighed, hating to have to explain it, "Terriermon you were born to fight, and it will probably end that way for you too, you'll die fighting. It's why digimon were created."

"…Is that why you don't want me to fight?"

"It's part of the reason anyways. Look, let's go home at eat some dinner, it's getting dark out, and I'm already in enough trouble after being late last night. Besides, I think I heard mom say she was making something special tonight…"

"Really? What do you mean by special?

"You'll see…"

"Aw…you can't tell me now?"

"Sorry Terriermon."

******

A lone figure stands shrouded in the darkness. His clothing gives no help in seeing him in the darkness. He wore a simple black shirt that across the front of the chest area with three red slash marks in crimson red. Besides that he wears black painter's jeans that cover his feet slightly and are baggy enough to hide his slightly athletic figure. On his feet, traditional Japanese socks....

He walks slightly into the light and it is then quiet apparent who the figure is as his cracked yellow rimmed goggles come into view…

Matsuda Takato.

As Takato turned, a small ray of light shown upon a long black object on his right side, that until now was hidden by the light….

A long black scabbard…

Looking at Takato one could see where the Katana that matched that scabbard was. It was held in his hands at the standard sword ready positions.

That position was one of the most used and useful stances in all of sword arts, known by some as the Horse stance. All it mainly consisted of was holding the hilt of the Katana with both hands, having your arms both you elbows bent slightly, as well as your legs spread apart and parallel to you shoulders and bent slightly as well. This stance provides for any user to have a good area to attack with, and good mobility, however it provides nothing else to aid the user with defense wise.

The room's only light came threw one of the many holes along the walls from the full moons light. That light gleamed off the Katana's blade, in a menacing manner, giving the illusion that the blade was no mere creation of metal and wood, but was an extension of the wielder's soul. No, it was more then that…the sword was no mere object in Takato hands but the essence of his sprit and power. 

Suddenly, without warning Takato's movements exploded with energy as he moved forward and brought his katana in a heavy slash, then he returned to his original stance. His naked blade was is it original position once again, giving the illusion it had never moved from its position. However the target dummy he was practicing on showed different. The only evidence of his attack, the mannequin had a long slash line across its torso. 

As Takato stepped into another stance this time the his head was turned to the right while he gripped the hilt of the katana with his left hand while raising the blade in an angel with only the hilt and guard of the Katana over his head, still with the blade facing the same direction he faced. Both of his knees were slightly bent and his right leg was about maybe five inches away from his being parallel with his shoulders. His right arm was thrust out with his hand open, palm out. Also his fingers were spread out as if to help aim the thrust. 

~ Your not going to stop me Matsuda… ~

Takato tried to ignore the voice as he moved brought his hands along with the katana to his front and blocked an invisible attack.

~ You have and Always will be mine, and nothing will save you from that fate ~

Takato returned to his beginning stance and thrusted his Katana forward in such a manor it stabbed right threw the Mannequins heart area in its chest.

~ Till you realize your place more people will get hurt…. Like dear Sakura…another person you failed to protect. ~

Takato's eyes slowly started to glaze as he promptly hell to his knees, while his Katana's blade went threw the floor. His head was hung low, in utter defeat. As the mention of the name Sakura brought back long forgotten memories.

***Flashback***

Takato stood in his emerald green kimono, his eyes brightening as different sights that caught his eye as he looked around.

Kai, both his cousin, and his best friend, was here with him…just not here, as in right beside him. He'd run off for some reason, Takato wasn't sure why.

It was his birthday today, and this was how they were doing to spend it. His grandfather had planned this behind his back, and he found himself slightly amazed that he had pulled it off in the end. Very little got by him unnoticed, and a festival was not something that had come to mind. *Kai, and Guilmon must have worked with him on this one…* He thought to himself.

In truth, where as Kai ran off to look around, Guilmon was nowhere to be found… 

Of course, it was probably better that way…Guilmon had a problem with getting him in trouble…first with Kai, and then later on when his grandfather found out about him. Neither of them had liked the idea of a talking dinosaur around the house (even a fun loving, friendly one), but slowly they'd gotten use to the idea. Despite all this, though Guilmon was still that friendly, kind hearted digimon he had known for over three years now, he was a bit big, and hard to handle when he got out of control…it would be best if he kept in the shadows for this one.

He knew he needed to find his cousin…grandpa had left them both to each other's mercy, and Takato didn't handle being by himself to much, nor the idea of Kai doing the same.

He struggled through the crowd, pushing himself through the mounds of people, "Kai? Kai, where are you?" he called, hoping to catch his attention, "Come on Kai, I'm not interested in wandering around all day to look for-"

He felt himself fall to the ground as his body came in contact with another individual, and cut him off from anything he had planed on saying before. The person cried out in alarm, falling as well.

Takato sighed, pulling himself to his feet, and brushing himself off. People passing by made no move to help him up, or even seem to notice the fact that he had fallen in the first place. They were too busy wrapped up in they're own affairs, though it really didn't bother him.

His thoughts became entangled with finding Kai again, when suddenly a voice caught him by surprise.

"Who do you think you are knocking me down like that?!"

Takato's eyes grew wide, looking down to see a girl his age sitting on the ground. She'd obviously been the person he had run into, her tousled hair, and now dirty clothing, proving that. 

He blushed, feeling stupid for not noticing her before. After all, he had just run into her.

"Well?" Her annoyed voice interrupted his thoughts once again.

"…I'm sorry." He was still blushing, and feeling stupid for doing so, though he really couldn't help it. Just thinking about how pathetic he sounded made him want to hit himself. He held his hand out, hoping she would take it so he could help her up.

Instead she did the exact opposite, pushing it away from her, as she got to her feet on her own. Whoever she was, she was obvious the independent type…well, either that, or just plain rude. Then again…he had just knocked her to the ground, so she had a right to be a little rude, if not angry. "You better be…" She muttered, trying to brush off her kimono –now covered in both mud and dirt, because of Takato– and fix her hair.

He cautiously looked her over for any injuries, worried that he had hurt her when pushing her to the ground, but suddenly found himself giving her the once over. Just by her looks alone he was speechless…

There eyes seemed to meet then, his eyes a maroon, and hers a dark brown, and in some ways, most alluring. In some ways he almost had to force himself to look at something, or someone else. Her long black hair, that oddly enough had a purplish tint to it, was left falling down her back, and didn't stop until it reached the small of her back. Unlike Takato's emerald green one; this girl wore a pink kimono, covered with cherry blossom designs. 

Takato finally looked up from the girl's outfit, to find her glaring at him in anger. If he had been who he once was, he would have broke under that glare…. But thanks to Vamdemon he had grown stronger. He wouldn't show weakness to someone like her.

"My name's Takato, what's yours?" It seemed like the best approach…

She never let down her guard, still glaring at him, "Why is it any of you're business?" 

He mentally he sighed, *So much for that…* "Come on, I said I was sorry, so why do you keep on being so rude?!" He finally burst with anger, mostly at himself for even bothering to talk to her in the first place. *Why did I just say sorry and leave? Then I wouldn't be in this mess!*

"Look, I didn't ask to get run over by some little boy who doesn't have enough of a brain to watch where he's going! My kimono's covered in dirt now, and my mom's going to kill me!"

"But it's not my fault!" He insisted, realizing right after he said it, how young and immature he sounded, "I was trying to find someone and got lost in thought, but that doesn't mean you need to act like a brat about it!"

"You're calling me a brat?! Why you little…"

Takato had started something, and it went on from there, both of them flinging insults at each other, and yet neither of them gaining an inch in their verbal battle. 

"Takato? Where are you?!"

"Kai?" Takato looked up from the fight to see his cousin plowing through the crowd, receiving many glares, and shouts of anger. "Sorry!" He called back, still running towards him, and the girl beside him that still hadn't given him her name.

"Where we're you?" The brown-eyed boy insisted, "I've been looking all over for you!"

"You've been looking for me?! Kai, I just spent the last half an hour searching for you! You're the one who ran off leaving me all by myself!"

Kai put a sheepish hand behind his head, "I know, I know…I was just checking out the sights, no need to get so upset…Sakura?" The last remark was directed at the girl standing beside him. Her arms crossed over her chest, she wore a almost angry pout at being interrupted…that is, until she saw Kai. She looked up slowly, not seeming to believe her own eyes. "…Kai?"

He sent back the same look of surprise. "…Sakura? What are you doing here?!"

"Kai!" She laughed happily, throwing herself at the startled boy, and hugging him, "My mom said I could go after all, so I can spend some time with you today!"

Takato watch both of them in surprise and confusion, "Kai…you know her?"

The sheepish look returned, "Yeah, I know her. Takato this is Sakura, Sakura this it Takato."

Sakura removed her arms from Kai, and stepped away from him, before bowing to Takato in greetings. "I'm sorry about how rude I was before, I didn't know that you were a friend of Kai's." She blushed.

*Does that mean the only reason she's being nice is because I'm friend's with Kai?* He didn't like the mental image he was getting, and tried to shake it off. "Don't' worry about it." He replied calmly, forcing a smile. She returned it, and Takato could tell she had been truthful when she had had apologized. 

******

For the rest of the afternoon the three of them went everywhere they could think of, exploring the different aspects of the festival. From the targeting booths, to the goldfish area they tried everything they could think of, and then some. Takato was having one of the best times he had ever had in his life, and for once the memory of his parent's death was not on his mind.

It's sad how good things don't always last.

******

"Takato, come on! We still have another hour left!" Kai called to him, Sakura beside him, giggling. "Yeah come on! We can't have you lagging behind!" She commented, with a laugh.

*Eight years old, and he already has a girlfriend…* Takato thought to himself in amusement, running to catch up with his friends.

They wandered around for a while longer after that, trying to find anything they might have missed on their first round, but slowly, the calm, happy atmosphere that had once been here was disappearing as a gray fog seemed to swallow the carnival. Takato was the only one unfazed. Knowing what was happening, and hating the fact that it had to happen now. Too many battles had begun this way before, and he waited for the digimon he knew that would emerge from the dark fog any moment now.

The fog started getting so thick that Takato could barely see Sakura and Kai, neither of which could be any farther than a foot away from him. *I have to get out of here! I don't want Sakura and Kai to get caught in the middle of all this!* His thoughts shouted in worry. He slipped quietly away from his friends, hoping he'd be lucky enough and they wouldn't notice.

"Takato, where are you?!"

Of course he never was one of the lucky ones.

He ran, faster and faster, determined to keep his friends out of this, and to defeat this digimon on his own. *I can't let them get hurt!*

The outline of the creature was coming into view, but he didn't get a chance to look at it for more than a second before he was rammed out of the way. He fell to the ground, his side aching in pain, and looked up. It was Guilmon.

"WARNING LASER!"

A thin red beam cut threw the fog and Takato rolled to his right, managing to prevent serious damage. Sadly, it just wasn't enough. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain shoot threw his left arm, checking it he found to his bemusement a piece of glass that had been wedged into his skin. Instead of being hit by a Warning Laser, he was cut by glass while trying to avoid the first peril. He could have laughed at the irony of the situation.

"DESTRUCTION GRENADE!"

"Takato, are you okay?!" He heard a voice come from his left. It was Kai.

He blinked, still in shock, "How did you guys find me?"

Sakura's eyes, now wide with fear and worry, spoke volumes for Takato, but she looked away, "We heard you scream."

Takato shook his head, not realizing he had cried out in pain, before pushing himself to his feet, "Are you two okay?"

Kai frowned, a look of worry crossing over his features, "We're fine, but what about you Takato? And where's Guilmon?" Both Sakura and Kai looked none the worse for wear, where Takato seemed to look as if he had just gotten into one hell of a brawl. And where was Guilmon? He didn't have a clue.

Kai watched Sakura carefully, and Takato could tell he was worried about her, if not the strong urge to protect her, and the love he gave off. But that didn't matter now. *Don't they understand?! They need to get out of here!*

His loss of control was becoming evident to everyone else around him, if not him in general, "You guys, please… You need to leave!"

"DESTRUCTION GRENADE!"

******

Takato was starting gain a reddish hue, as his eyes slowly becoming complete red… till nothing was visible other than that void of crimson red…

He was losing it…but he could feel it, the power inside him growing, taking over his body, and in some ways turning him into one complete being. He was whole again.

A sharp, white line made itself known; cutting diagonally across his eye, to match the one Guilmon had. 

Behind him, Sakura stood, arms raised in front of her face as she tried to avoid the bright light coming towards her. He could feel her fear.

The Guardromon was watching everything with blank eyes; Takato could read no emotion from the viral robot digimon. He could see Vamdemon behind the Guardromon, with his hands on the robot digimon's shoulders, while giving a superior smirk at Takato.

Nothing seemed worth his time, other than wiping that smirk off Vamdemon's face. Not caring what the consequences were

Takato charged forward towards the Viral Digimon pair... Guilmon following his lead. Neither himself nor his partner seemed to noticed when tons of energy grenades were launched at them... nor did they notice the ground explode from under them...they just kept charging ahead.

He was so preoccupied with the battle he never heard Kai scream out in anguish, as the stray energy grenades struck his girlfriend…

The only thing that mattered to him was Vamdemon...

The only thing he could think of was…

"I will avenge my parents Vamdemon, and I will get my vengeance upon you."

******

The rest of the battle disappeared in a fast blur of motion, finally ending as Growmon dealt one last blow to Guardromon, and the digimon burst into a mass of data, only to be absorbed by Guilmon, who had reverted to his regular form once again.

Takato turned around only to see his cousin starring coldly at him, his arms warped around a girl in a ripped Kimono. 

He didn't even have to look to know who she was.

Kai's lowered his eyes, and Takato couldn't tell if he was just trying to avoid his own pleading look, or just to look his loved one in the face on last time.

"…Takato…why?" The boy asked in a shaken voice, "…You could have easily save her, and yet you chose to give up her life to fight. How could you even think about doing something like that…?"

"…Kai…I'm…I'm sorry…"

"Takato…" Kai turned away from him, Sakura still cradled in his arms, "…just leave me alone."

Takato bit his lower lip to stop what he knew felt like an on coming flow of tears…he wouldn't cry…he wouldn't cry…In a attempt to hold in his emotions, Takato ran away from his own partner, his best friend, and Sakura…

***End Flashback***

Takato woke from the flashback and lifted his head from the position that indicated shame. Around him a faint red aura appeared but soon vanished while Takato had yet to open his eyes. Yet one could easily see the fresh tears coming from his closed eyes. Other then that no emotion except regret was visible on the young Matsuda's face.

~ Remember Matsuda you are and always will be mine! We will meet again and this time your little power won't save you. ~

Takato calmly got to his feet leaving his katana embedded in the floor, and reached into his pocket and pulled out his Digivice and glared at it. As he touched the metallic surface of the Digivice his eye always ached right in the same spot where Guilmon was clawed four years prior. No matter what, he always felt wrong owning this 'glitch' of a device. 

Was I suppose to have gotten this Digivice, or was it a D-arc that I should have received?

Was I suppose to have given life to Growmon? Or Guilmon for that matter… 

Was I suppose to even have a Digimon?

My life shouldn't have become this….

Should my life have become worse then it already was?

Was I a mistake, was I even suppose to exist?

Takato dropped his Digivice as he clutched his head as more and more of these questions appeared in his mind. Each time they got darker and darker…it felt as if his mind was ripping itself apart. Various Images flashed threw his mind of things he had seen and some that he hadn't seen in his life.

Pictures of that girl he had seen before merging with her Renamon to create the Ultimate level Digimon; Sakuyamon.

Lots of picture of a creature who looked like a real life version of a perfect level digimon he made up years ago fighting a Tiger like Digimon whose name escaped him. However, he never knew that digimon could look so frightening.

Pictures of a creature unlike any Digimon he ever knew about…it was surrounded by a huge pinkish blob barrier, devouring his hometown…

Pictures of Vamdemon walking though some black swirling thing of color…

Pictures of his mothers last moments…

Pictures of his father last moments…

Pictures of him battling and Sakura getting hit with the barrage of energy grenades….

Pictures of him merging with Guilmon to create a Digimon he vaguely remembered as Dukemon.

Then finally pictures of Him merging with Guilmon to create a Winged Dragon Digimon with no legs, and that had long blades across his arms.

Takato scolded himself harshly when he felt tears once again falling down his cheeks. This weakness was not to be tolerated; he couldn't be soft… people got hurt when he did that. He had to eliminate these weaknesses… to keep his friends or what little family he had left safe.

With that Takato went to his room, and fell into a fit full sleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. 

******


	7. One Mixed Up Day…

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: And yet another chapter out way later then we planned it to be. -_-; Oh well, the point it that it's out, and ready for you to read! So read and review! Thanks. ^_~ 

Oooh! Lots of Ruki in this one, not to mention Impmon, Growmon, Renamon, and Culumon! Sorry that's there's no Takato, though I promise he'll be in the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Surprised? Don't be.

******

Chapter Seven: One Mixed Up Day…

She walked down the sidewalk, savoring every moment she had before she reached her destination. Her eyes kept to the ground, not bothering to look where she was going while she seemed to lock herself in her very own world.

Slung over one of her shoulders was a backpack, and inside of that backpack was a report. One that should have been started at least a week ago. *But noooooo!*

She scowled, *I had to leave it to the last minute.* Evidently, Ruki would be spending Sunday morning in the library.

The redhead kicked a pebble on the sidewalk, watching as it skipped alone, finally stopping a few feet in front of her. She caught up to it and kicked it again, and then again after that, as she tried to avoid thinking of the library, and the very little time she had to finish her report.

Sadly, it didn't help much. Five minutes later, Ruki looked up, the Shinjuki library standing in front of her.

She glared at it, as if willing it to disappear, something that would have put her in a very different situation all together. She pictured herself insisting to her teacher that the library she needed for her report had simply vanished into thin air. The chances of her teacher actually believing her? Not likely.

Sighing to herself, she headed inside.

******

Ruki cursed under her breath, she'd been here for already two hours, and still she hadn't found anything interesting to do her report on…Past events…what kind of report was that?! On Monday, everyone in her class would present their reports on 'past events' placed in West Sinjuku, and most of the interesting (or easy to write about) topics had been chosen, leaving her to pick at what was left…

"Stupid teachers…stupid report…of course I had to end up with the hardest of them all…" She glared at anything that met her glaze, making many people in her range of view wince slightly, as they walked past her in their search for books.

Ruki had been through old newspapers…tons of them. But her search wasn't very thorough…she'd barely even bothered to flip through the ten newspapers at her table for the moment. "What a waste of time," She muttered under her breath.

*…So if it's such a waste of your time, why haven't I left yet?* She asked herself mentally. She knew it would only take a few minutes to pick up the newspapers, and shove them back onto the shelves where they belonged, then she could get out of this hellhole, and find something better to do with her time.

Her mind made up, she stood up quickly, almost knocking her chair over in the process. "I'm out of here, I don't care if I fail this dumb thing anyways."

Collecting her things, she finally reached for the newspapers that lay spread out on the table…but one caught her eye. She stopped for a moment to stare at its front page. It was obvious she had overlooked this one before, because she knew there could have been no way she could have simply piled this one with the rest of them after glancing at the front page.

**Mother Found Dead; Both Father And Son Still Missing.**

But it wasn't the headline that caught her eye…but the young boy whose photo was placed directly in the center of the page.

"That Chosen kid…" She shook her head to get rid of the image. They couldn't be the same people…it wasn't possible! *Ruki, you're letting your determination to beat this guy get in the way of your logic, they're no way it's the same kid!* She insisted, but the rest of her mind was looking for evidences that would prove herself wrong.

The date…it was set just five years ago…she had only been a little kid then, and if that so called 'Chosen' was about her age now…could it really be him? She looked into his eyes…

The boy in the picture…just by looking into his eyes you could tell he was happy. They were maroon in color, but immediately gave off warmth, he seemed like one of those kids that wanted to be a friend to the world, even someone like her…it was almost sickening how much emotion he gave off just by smiling like that. "Pathetic." She muttered.

It was strange though…the boy she had met just a few days ago had been cold, calm, and composed, nothing like this smiling boy only five years before…but both of them wore the same maroon eyes, and maroon wasn't a popular eye color these days.

They was only one thing that she could even think of comparing right now, and at the time it seemed like the most obvious…the brown hair. The five year old had brown hair, where the older one (as well as she could remember) was almost silver…

"Probably hair dye." She ruled the final one out with a snort, leaving her home free. Quietly she folded the newspaper in her hands, and un-zipped her backpack. She was sure the library wouldn't mind if she borrowed this for a little while…

The article had intrigued her…maybe she could find some sort of weakness of his…something to make him pay, or at least something to lure him out into the open once again…

Either way, she'd find out when she got home. Makino Ruki left the library with a smirk on her face. *It looks like I have a topic to write my report on after all…*

******

"Damn, what the hell hit me…?" muttered a small child digimon angrily…

With this said he tried to get to his feet only to receive a swift jolt of pain that made him fall back down. He closed his mouth and bit down on his bottom lip hard to keep his whimpers of pain to a minimum.

His whole body felt funny…well not necessary funny, just sore…and his head…he gave another moan of pain… his head was killing him.

What had happened? Something had hit him…something had hit him hard by the feel of it, but he couldn't remember what exactly had caused the incident in the first place, little lone why anyone would want to hurt such a Digimon as himself…

He suddenly clenched his fists, in remembrance of what had happened just yesterday. The fight fresh in his mind, that had defiantly not been a good day for him…He had fought and lost horribly to that pathetic child type, so much like himself in some ways. But no, he hadn't just lost; Terriermon had literally wiped the floor with him! It hadn't been much of a battle, he'd admit to that, but still-that little runt of a digimon had cheated! He'd been caught off guard! 

His mind furiously replayed the events over and over in his head, trying to think up new ways to prove that the win had been nothing more than luck, but he knew in his heart he wouldn't have been strong enough to beat the dog/rabbit digimon even on a good day.

Impmon turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand…the thing that had hit him…

He growled, muttering curse words under his breath as he thought about it, what had started off as an 'innocent' walk around the park at only five o'clock that morning (it was always fun scaring the humans that were crazy enough to get up at this hour, or the few pathetic (and usually drunk) teenagers wandering around, in too much of a daze to know they should have been home long ago), had nearly ended with an Impmon pancake.

It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if it was something done by those damn humans, he could have easily just vented, by taking out his anger on any humans in the area, it really didn't concern him if they had helped or not, just that all of them be punished for hurting me.

But he knew it was much more than just some silly little thing a human could cook up. It had been a digimon. He'd remember the cries of panic coming from the few people around him, and the shouts about a monster of some sort…yes, it had defiantly been a digimon. He was sure of it.

That's what annoyed him most of all, not only was he beaten easily by a 'tamed' Digimon yesterday, but he was also plowed through by some unknown digimon who didn't seem to think of him much better then mud…

"That makes two things on my hit list…" he sighed angrily glaring at the sky above him, trying to remember what that unknown digimon looked like…

"This just isn't my week…"

******

*I've already survived 5 minutes,* She told herself, annoyed with her lack of self-control. *It can't be that hard to wait just a few more!* But the urge to open her backpack, and read the front page of the paper was becoming unbearable…

…Patience was not one of her strong points.

"Why didn't I just read it at the library?" Ruki asked herself in annoyance, though in the back of her mind, she knew the answer to her question. The library had become yet another one of those places she couldn't stand to be around for more than an hour or so, and she had defiantly reached her limit. In attempt to pass the next few minutes it would take to walk home she tried to think up something, a word game, anything that would keep her mind off that newspaper…but so far she wasn't having much luck. Her thoughts kept on drifting back to that goggle-head!

She managed to hold in that fiery ball of flame known as her temper, and sighed instead, "Why'd you have to just appear out of nowhere and mess up everything?"

Now that she thought about it, this new silver-haired boy, and his Digimon had done nothing but confuse, anger, and frustrate her no end, not to mention distract her from he goal of making Renamon digivolve...they had lost a digimon to him!

She had remembered being stupid enough to watch as that talking dinosaur, 'Guilmon' stole their precious data, she should have told Renamon to steal it for herself! Of course she had been to busy wondering what was going on, but she should have been paying more attention to her surroundings! She'd let both Renamon and herself down…

"Maybe it's fate." A voice spoke up from behind Ruki, and she turned around sharply in surprise, almost afraid of what she would find.

"…Oh, Renamon, it's only you." She blushed, angry with herself for being afraid of her own Digimon. "Next time, don't sneak up on me like that." She ordered softly. The fox-type Digimon gave a small nod of her head in apology for startling her Tamer, but Ruki gave off no hints that she had noticed the action, "What do you mean fate?" She asked.

"Maybe that boy called here for some reason, maybe something important that involves both him, and that Digimon he seems to have tamed." 

Ruki's eyes narrowed, "Renamon, I don't know about Digimon, but humans choose their own fate, they don't let other people decide it for them. I doubt this guy –whoever he is- is much different."

Renamon nodded in acceptance to her Tamer's words, "If you say so, Ruki."

She rolled her eyes at her Digimon's own stupidity. *Worthless data…most of the time anyway.* "Why are you here anyway?" She asked sharply, her anger of being startled so easily before was clear in her words.

"I've found the boy, along with his Digimon."

"Really?" Ruki perked up at the mention of the silver haired boy and his Digimon. *Now I'll prove myself to you…*

"Yes, he lives just a few blocks from Shinjuki Elementary, it shouldn't be too hard to find him again unless he moves from his location anytime soon."

"Why would he do that?" Ruki rolled her eyes, "He doesn't know we're searching for him."

"Not yet, but you know as well as I do, he will eventually put the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out that we're after him."

"I don't see how…" She frowned visibly, a thought coming to mind, "you were seen weren't you?"

Again, Renamon bowed her head in apology, "I'm sorry Ruki, I didn't mean for him to see me."

Ruki growled, resisting the urge to hurt something, namely her Digimon. She knew it was pointless; Renamon was stronger than she'd ever been. "Which one, the goggle head, or that talking dinosaur of his?"

Renamon gave no sign of acknowledgement to the nicknames, "Guilmon."

She sighed in relief; at least it wasn't the boy. Another thought came to mind, worrying her, "Did he try and attack you?" She'd been there the first time both Renamon and the dinosaur had fought, and knew that the Digimon was a threat to her and Renamon. She didn't want Renamon to be caught off guard by him…if she was; there was no telling what would happen without Ruki and her cards there to save her.

"No, I retreated before he got the chance. If we're lucky, he'll think he just imagined me, and forget to tell his Tamer…from the looks of it, he's not very smart."

*If we're lucky…let's just hope luck is on our side.* Ruki thought grimly. But still, part of her was happy that her Digimon had gotten away unharmed. She wasn't the type to run away from a fight, but sometimes it just seemed like the smartest thing to do, even if it was the most cowardly way out as well.

*But how did that thing become so powerful so quickly?* She mused, *He can't be any older than Renamon, and still he beat her easily.*

"He seems to have had more experience then either of us." Renamon commented.

Ruki shuddered. She hated when she did that…in some ways it seemed almost like her and Renamon shared a bond of some kind and Ruki hated the thought in every way possible. Renamon was her Digimon, and she was her Tamer, there was nothing more to it then that, and Ruki hoped to keep it that way. The problem was that with this strange 'bond' they shared Renamon seemed to be able to pick up the different emotions that came from her, and in times like these, her thoughts…it wouldn't have bothered her as much if she could feel the same thing coming from Renamon…but she couldn't. Truthfully, the whole thing gave her the creeps.

"Never mind that, we'll find a way to get stronger, it's just a matter of time."

Renamon nodded in acceptance, and Ruki started walking towards her place again.

Though she couldn't see her, she knew her Digimon was right behind her. She always did follow her lead. "Let's go home, Renamon. We'll figure this out later…"

"Yes, Ruki."

******

It was around mid afternoon, when a loud rumble erupted from West Shinjuki park, causing all birds in the area to scatter in fear. This event foreshadowed an even louder roar that erupted soon after the rumbling, causing both man and beast to shudder in fear…

****** 

Guilmon opened his eyes, awaking from what had been a quiet comfortable nap. Yawning, and blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light, the red dinosaur, forced himself to focus on his surroundings. Blinking once more to makes sure his vision cleared, and beheld a strange sight; a small, white digimon was sleeping on his side. Two things struck him as odd about the situation; the first, being that he didn't seen to mind the cute little digimon sleeping there, and second…for some strange reason, he felt a lot taller, and wider than he had felt when he had fallen asleep…

He shook his head, trying to relieve the sensation, but sadly, he still felt the same. Looking down, he discovered much to his astonishment, that he had evolved into his adult form; Growmon. He used one large claw to scratch his head in confusion, all of the energy in he had squandered over the past few days being in his child form, was replenished…It was almost as if he had just evolved for the first time… 

Turning back to glance at the mysterious, baby level two digimon (who seemed to have decided he made a good pillow), he could help but smirk at the sense of power the little digimon gave off. He couldn't help but think of the irony, of sure a small digimon, holding a power that could probably topple most ultimate digimon, and even Vamdemon without much of a problem…if the digimon knew how to use the power of course.

Suddenly, the amused look vanished from Growmon's face, and he frowned, "Still…I wish I could remember why I'm here, and not with Takatomon…" He muttered angrily.

As in response to Growmon, and the words he had spoken, he noticed the symbol on the forehead of the tiny creature began to glow a dim purple light. Looking down as mysterious symbol on his own chest, he was startled to see it glow as well…Suddenly; Growmon's eyes began to glaze…

***Flashback***

Guilmon hadn't arrived back at the house until dawn…only to find himself locked out. He frowned, afraid of waking Takatomon. Guilmon knew that Takatomon didn't sleep very well at night, and though he knew his partner would be willing to let him in at this time in the morning, without getting too angry, he'd didn't want to wake him up, his partner needed his rest…

He sighed; he'd just have to go to plan B…

What was plan B again? 

He nodded to himself, finally remembering. He would just have to break in…he could do that without making too much noise, right? They're was only one way to find out…He raised his right arm into the air and summoned the flames in his body to engulf his claws, ready to commence his Rock Breaker attack…he was prepared…any second now he could launch the attack and enter his 'home'.

However then he had a few second thoughts, that told him of what Takatomon would do to him if he broke the front door down, and woke the whole neighborhood up…he stopped.

This didn't seem like a good idea anymore…he remembered what Takatomon had done last time he'd broken down their front door. They had still been living at Takatomon's grandfather's place at the time, but in some ways, Guilmon wished they still lived they're, it had been a nice place to live.

_"No peanut butter for a week!"_

He shuddered; no he would not be breaking down the front door tonight. It was too risky. If there was any worse torture than no peanut butter…he didn't know what is was.

He'd have to find a quiet place to sleep for the night. Hopefully somewhere where he could sleep peacefully, and without anyone finding him. So moving as quickly and as quietly as he could, he searched for a good spot, if not to keep Takatomon safe, then to keep himself safe, from those nasty labs he had seen so many movies about…

"Takatomon was right…I shouldn't have watched that movie with him…" Guilmon muttered.

He could have swore he had spotted the Renamon he had seen earlier that week, a few times during his journey down the quiet streets of West Shinjuki, but he was too tired to care. Occasionally images of things he rarely thought of popped in to his head, but still, his eyes we're drooping with the knowledge that he had not slept for quiet sometime, and he ignored them.

"Takatomon…next time I get a key…" He muttered in a child-like, tired sounding voice.

******

Finally the tired digimon arrived at a forest of some sort, but all that seemed to matter to him right now was finding a small, quiet place where he could sleep. He barely even watched where he was heading, as his eyes started closing, insisting that they needed sleep, as much as the rest of his body…

He arrived at a forest of some sorts, but all that mattered to the Dragon/Dinosaur digimon was finding a place to hide and sleep in. He could barely watch where he was heading as his eyes kept closing every now and then. He tripped over many cloth covered logs, and the trees whispered many things to him, and his ran through the bush, though the most common phase was, "M-m-monster, someone help me…!"

Sometimes very hard branches hit him as he ran…but he could barely feel them…well, most of them. 

******

Finally, the exhausted dinosaur digimon stopped, he was too tired to go on, and it felt as if he had finally arrived at a spot that felt like…home. It was as if this one place had been calling out to him all along…

Entering the cave, he collapsed…

***End Flashback***

Growmon woke up from the flash back, and again looked at the sleeping digimon at his side…he couldn't help but feel some kinship to the tiny digimon, and the underlying feeling…he felt he should protect this child, no matter what the cost.

"I wonder if this is what a mother feels for her young…" He mused.

As gently as the Adult digimon could, he tapped the sleeping digimon with one of his large clawed hands…oddly enough, the digimon hardly stirred from his sleeping position, and after a few more taps the strange little digimon fell from his side, allowing Growmon to get up.

Getting up from his resting position, Growmon stood up and moved away from the tiny digimon. He didn't want to frighten him with what he was about to do.

******

After making sure the unknown digimon was still sawing logs, Growmon got into an attack stance…

All of the sudden he began to glow, a whitish hue as his chest symbol proceeded to flash on and off, in the style of a warning light. Suddenly, he was shrinking, his long white hair vanishing, and his demeanor changed from a feral beast, to that of an innocent child.

Now that Guilmon was in his Child form, he looked over to the mysterious digimon from before; it was starting to wake up…

Quietly, he took a few steps towards the small, white Digimon, and then watched as the mysterious, rubbed his eyes, gave a loud yawn, and stretched…. when the stretching was done it opened its eyes and looked at Guilmon. Its large curious green eyes stared into Guilmon's pure and innocent golden ones…

"Hi, I'm Culumon…. what's your name, culu?"

Guilmon frowned, "I'm Guilmon, not Culu."

Culumon frowned as well, though not for the same reason, "…Wanna play?"

Guilmon's eyes lit up, it had been so long since he's done anything exciting, and he wanted a chance to hang around with this new Digimon, "Sure!"

******

Well, what did you think? Personally don't think I did very well on a lot of the parts, but it would be nice to have someone else opinion.

Yay! Soon Christmas holidays will begin, and you know what that means? I'll have more time to write! *grins* Hopefully the next chapter will be out faster than this one was!


	8. A Day in the Life of Matsuda Takato

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: New chapter out, enjoy! 

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. What a surprise….

Chapter Eight: A Day in the Life of Matsuda Takato

******

~One Week Later~

The morning air was covered in a cloud of digital fog, masking the sleepy park in a vale of mist. The only sounds heard were of a massive battle placed in a clearing behind the trees.

******

Takato stood with his guard up, shivering ever so slightly in the pouring rain. This match was not going as planned…

His enemy; a wild Garurumon, it stood tall on it's four legs, glaring at him with a look of death. He looked ready for any move made against him by the Chosen child; except for the fact that his tail gave the impression that it wasn't fully there…every few moments it phased in out of sight. But either way, the Digimon did not seem worried.

Takato on the other hand could have been better. Already his clothing was torn up, his muscles ached as if they had been covered in burning gasoline, and his breath came out in ragaged gasps.

"FOX FIRE!" The Digimon open his jaws and in one quick moment let go a beam of pure energy at Takato…then vanished.

Takato watched the beam of blue electrifying energy as it sped towards him, his eyes glazing slightly in the process…suddenly the glazed look was gone, and a glare replaced it as his Katana's blade started to glow with a bluish hue. He held his sword in front of him, perfectly straight, and watched as the attack split in half as it came in contact with his blade.

Unharmed by the attack, Takato smirked, getting over confident. Lowering his sword as if to bait his opponent into the open, it was that moment the Garurumon chose to attack. Launching himself from his hidden spot behind the silver-haired boy…catching him completely unaware.

Takato heard the snarls of the Digimon and turned around, only to be greeted with an oncoming physical attack from the Garurumon. With few seconds to spare, he brought his sword up to unleash a counter attack. The next thing that happened was almost to fast for the eyes to follow…

The Digimon was impaled with the blade, it's coat of white and blue fur not able to prevent the shiny metal from piercing its skin…still, he managed to slash Takato across him chest with his left forepaw…before bursting into fragments of data. 

Takato carefully brought his sword back into his sheath and removed his Katana's hand guard, as he slipped it into his pocket. He used the scabbard as a cane, leaning on it for support.

Carefully, he exited the Digital fog, lifting his goggles from his eyes, Takato sighed, "Where's Guilmon when you need him?"

******

Renamon appeared, soon after Takato had vanished. Glancing down at the ground below her, it was easy to see the trail of blood that followed behind the boy as he stumbled home. 

The fox-type Digimon stared the blood on the ground, a look of deep confusion in her eyes. "Ruki will want to know of this."

With that, the fog around the area began to lift and Renamon phased out of sight. 

******

In the shadows of an alleyway corner a young man watched Takato from the shadows, almost an inhuman hunger appearing in his eyes…

The man's eyes wandered the bloody marks on Takato's shirt…he could tell the boy what in a lot of pain…they way he breathed was enough…coming out in ragged gasps he flinched every time he drew in a breath. Still, he attempted to stand tall as he headed home, despite the pain. Putting together the clues from the scene before him, he came to one conclusion…

"So the young Matsuda is injured and wishes to hide it."

His eyes had already started to glow crimson red as unnatural wind started to pick up around him, making both his hair and clothing toss and turn in the false breeze. He didn't bother to hide the smile on his face, seeming only to be made out of cruelty…and pride for the young boy. He had fought well, despite the great disadvantage. 

The teeth on the left and right side of his mouth had begun to grow, becoming more vampire-like by the second. They stopped once reaching the gums of the lower jaw.

His hungry eyes were taken off his prey, and he started at his left hand, almost completely lost in though. "I could end his life with but one whip of my Bloody Stream…" He smirked, and dug his nails into his palm as he clenched into a fist. A pool of blood was created as it slowly dripped from his hand, almost as if to start his signature attack.

"But then my prize would be destroyed." He concluded with a frown, dropping his hand and letting the collected blood splatter against of the ground, before bursting into a small stream of data. 

His gaze turned back to the boy, his look of hunger gone and his appearance shifting back to the normality of a young adult. A look of distance drew across his expression.

"Soon Matsuda…soon you, and your power shall be mine."

With these last words, the blond haired man slipped back into the corner of the alleyway, hidden even better by the shadows. Just as his figure fully vanished from sight, a flock of bats emerged from the shadows where he had once appeared. Following their natural instincts, the winged creatures of the night took flight in hopes in finding food for the night.

******

Else where two Digimon spent their hours playing tag…Guilmon and Culumon chased after each other. Culumon was it this time, and giggled as he chased after Guilmon. Guilmon laughed, "You can't catch me, Culumon!" It had been such a long time since he'd had fun like this…

Suddenly the smaller of the two Digimon tripped, Culumon's expression turned to one of confusion as he fell, the triangular symbol on his forehead flashing bright red. 

The same look of confusion fell upon Guilmon's face…he felt it too…the symbol on his stomach began to glow, much like Culumon's, except brighter, something was wrong…

The confusion wasn't gone, just hidden, and a more ferial look replaced it. *Takato's in pain…* He could feel the pain in almost equal amounts, a mysterious slash appearing across his chest.

*Takato needs my help!* This was the only thought that ran through the Digimon's mind as he hurried away from the vicinity. 

"Culu! Hey! Wait for me!"

******

Something was wrong with Takato today…Juri knew it….

The brown haired girl had noticed Takato when he had arrived at class a bit late. In some ways he looked as if he had been in some sort of battle, and they way he leaned on that oddly carved cane of his, he seem to be in some sort of pain, even though he tried to hide it. Watching him closes she noticed how irregular his breathing was, every time he took in a new, fresh breath of air he flinched as if he were touched by a hot coal… 

His excuse was full of holes, and was not really that conclusive…

After all, he had said he'd been attack by muggers with knives…that was doubtful; it didn't make sense to bring such an obviously valuable item, and have it in plain sight, just a little while after being mugged. She doubted he was that stupid, even with all the changes he had gone through in the past few years.... 

She was worried.

He was hiding something, and she knew it…throwing out all her efforts he had still ignored her, and always seemed to keep at least three feet between them. It was almost as if he though she had the plague, and just by even acknowledging her presence would mean death.

And considering his injury…no, she wasn't that naïve, she had noticed it for what it was after he had been knocked over by Hirokazu while entering the class room. The look of pain on his face had been enough…he needed a doctor, or something along those lines…

She looked back at her silver haired 'friend,' and much to her amusement found him doing what he use to do when she first met him…drawing, and ignoring the teacher's instructions…. *Even after all this time, he still can't focus on what he's told to…something's never change….* She though to herself with a small smile, and a shake of her head.

He thoughts were interrupted by a soft tap on the shoulder, and she flinched visibly, already knowing who it was…Miss Asaji glared down at her.

"Excuse me, Katou-san, I don't mean to pry into your romance life, but do you think you could keep your focus on what we're doing up on the board, and postpone your flirting with Matsuda-san until after class? I do have a lesson I need to teach."

Juri felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment, and quickly turned to face towards the board. Sadly, after only a few moments, her curiosity got the better of her….

She remember the old Takato found it hard to stop blushing once he started, and he blushed so easily, especially at things like crushes….

However, turning around she received a shock to find Takato hadn't even given the slightest reaction to their teacher's comment like she had originally though…he was throwing a cold glare at her.

She quickly turned around, her eyes filled with pain, that glare never disappearing from her thoughts….

His glare had been a combination of two emotions, anger and…betrayal.

But why would he direct such emotions at her? What had she done to receive such scorn?

"What happened to you Takato…?" She asked in a tone barely over a whisper. *What changed you from that sweet little boy, to this cold and angry one?*

The bell rang, signaling that class was over, and the end of yet another school day. Juri didn't dare turn her head in Takato's direction as she got ready to go. She was afraid of what he might do if she did. 

******

"Grandma, I'm going to do my homework in my room, I'll be a while." She announced, heading from her front door to her bedroom, backpack and jacket in her arms. 

"Okay Ruki," She looked back at her grandmother, their eyes meting for one short moment before Ruki closed her bedroom door.

  
Only silence greeted her as she turned around to face her bedroom, *I wonder where Renamon is…* She wondered, before deciding it really didn't matter. Renamon could take care of herself, she didn't need her Tamer to baby-sit her, and Ruki wasn't about to start.

She wasn't really going to her homework, it had just seemed like the best excuse at the time, and it would keep her grandmother (and if she was lucky her mother as well) off her back for a little while at least…

A week had past since she had been to the library, and still she hadn't reached into her backpack to read that newspaper article…she never had actually bothered to do that report, though that was more out of laziness then anything else. 

She kept on trying to convince herself that she'd been to busy to look at it, though she knew it was stupid. Sure there was always Digimon battles, school, and homework to worry about…but it wasn't like she had much of a social life, okay, so she didn't have a social life, period. 

Was she scared? Scared of what she would find in that newspaper that just might lessen the hate she had for the silver-haired goggle boy? 

…No, that couldn't be it. That was stupid…she wasn't scared of something as silly as that! Different emotions were mixing inside her, and in an angry attempt to ride herself of the tension growing deep inside her mind she flung both her backpack and coat across the room. The backpack hit the wall with a soft 'thud', and moments later she heard her grandmother calling to her from outside her bedroom door, "Ruki, are you okay in there?"

She spent a moment trying to calm herself, replying, "I'm fine! I just dropped something!" *Idiot,* She told herself, realizing just then, how stupid that must have sounded, *couldn't you have come up with something better than that? Sure, I dropped my backpack and it just magically flung itself across the room…great excuse.*

Ruki could prattle hear her Grandmother frowning, despite the door that separated them. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, one last time, as if giving her the chance to tell her what had really happened. 

"Very sure." 

"…Okay Ruki. But call me if you need anything, you know I'm always willing to help." 

"I will."

The old woman sighed, before moving away from the door. Ruki sighed as well, this time out of relief instead of worry. Waiting until her Grandmother's footsteps faded away, she glanced at her backpack once more. Did she have the time to read the paper now? Sure she had homework… *But that can wait.* 

She walked over her fallen backpack, silence hanging over her as she reached over to pick it up. Opening it, she dug around inside it before withdrawing the newspaper, the front-page title standing out more than anything else in its bold printing.

Again, she read, **Mother Found Dead; Both Father and Son Still Missing.**

Just by reading that title she could feel about a million questions popping up in her mind…she ignored them for now…hopefully every one of her questions would be answered by reading the article…

_'Disaster at Matsuda Bakery.'_

_By Tendou Nabiki._

_Last Tuesday in the early hours of the morning, Matsuda Mie, a middle aged women living in the district of West Shinjuku was found dead in her very own home when a regular customer--and close friend of the Matsuda's--dropped by the Matsuda's Bakery at her normal time._

_Shocked, and otherwise shaken, the young women searched for both Matsuda Takato and Matsuda Takehiro, both who should have been in the house at the time. Neither was found, and after another quick search through the house, she called for an ambulance. _

Police and an ambulance arrived just a few moments later, and Mrs. Matsuda's body was taken away, while the eyewitness stayed behind for further questioning. "I don't understand how this could have happened." The eyewitness, stated halfway through her questioning. "The Matsuda's were always such nice people, I would have never expected something like this to take place in their home."

_Police also questioned her on the fact that Takehiro might have has a role to play in both Mie's death and his son's disappearance, but she stated firmly that he would never do something like that to his own family. Nevertheless, police are still investigating._

_Any information known on the disappearances of both Matsuda Takato and Matsuda Takehiro should be brought to the police immediately._

Ruki let the newspaper slip out of her hands; the only sound in the room was the paper as it's fluttered to the ground. But inside, Ruki fumed with silent anger. No, it wasn't anger, it was mixed emotions, she seemed to be having those a lot lately…if anyone had bothered to ask her how she felt these past few days she doubted she could have given them a truthful answer, she couldn't explain it.

She was confused…yes, confusion was on the top on the list when it came to the different emotions stirring inside her. And now that she'd read the article…her confusion seemed to have grown ten times worse. 

*This stupid article was supposed to help me figure out this dumb goggle head! Instead all it's done is give me more questions in need of answering…*

This was giving her a headache…she needed answers, and she needed them now. As much as she hated to admit it, Ruki's level of patience was wearing thin. 

She glanced at her bedroom clock, it read, 7:14 pm….had it really been that long? She guessed she should have been paying more attention to her surrounding; it had only been around 4 o'clock when she first entered the room. Her stomach growled, and Ruki knew she was feeling the effects of having not eaten since breakfast. But food could wait. Her questions--in her mind at least--could not. *I'll get my answers if I have to hunt you down myself!* She vowed, though she knew Renamon would be helping on this mission. 

"Renamon?" Her voice was barely over a whisper as she spoke her partner's name, but it didn't matter. If Renamon was paying attention, she had her Tamer's voice.

As she had done so many times before, Renamon appeared within seconds of Ruki's summon. "Yes, Ruki?"

Ruki didn't bother to turn around and greet her Digimon; she had felt her presents in the room before she had even spoken. Besides, it was probably for the best…she knew her face, riddled with emotion would confuse Renamon. It was a weakness, and if Ruki wouldn't tolerate weakness from her own Digimon, she wasn't about to start accepting it from her own self. 

She'd overcome this, she knew she could. Renamon would not be notified of her Tamer's new and….frustrating emotions. "I need your help, Renamon." She hoped her voice has sounded as calm as always…she couldn't tell the difference herself, but she knew Renamon would notice the slightest change. 

Renamon frowned…Ruki could hear it, more than she could see it, the lights in her room were off, and it was getting dark outside. The only light in the room was from the window…moonlight. "What do you need my help for?" It was rare that her Tamer admitted she needed help.

"I want to confront the 'chosen' boy." She stated, "I asked you to keep tabs on him…where is he hiding?" 

'Hiding' seemed like the appropriate word…she hadn't him since they're first meeting, well over a week ago, it was almost as if he was hiding from her and her partner. She smirked; maybe he was scared of her. *That's doubtful.* She reminded herself, their first encounter had been enough to prove that his Digimon was much stronger than her own. *But we'll change that with both training and effort," She thought, glancing at Renamon. She would be the best. Nothing would prevent that from happening, not even the arrival of goggle boy.

"The 'chosen' boy," Renamon chose her Tamer's own wording, "resides in the Matsuda's Bakery."

*Or the remains of it, anyway.* The redheaded girl thought, her memory going back to the newspaper article. His old home would not be in that good of condition, especially after years of neglect and vandalism. Still, it made sense that he would stay there. By himself though? Ruki guessed he didn't have any legal guardian, in the city of Shinjuku anyway. All for the better then…a plan was being formed in her mind. 

******

*Damn it…damn it.* This was the only thought running through Takato's head as he limped in the direct of home. Never before had he felt the urge to go hide in a corner and die, then he had felt on this very day. 

He'd shown such weakness…it was almost pathetic when he looked back on it. He had promised himself he'd never act that weak again, and today it had been broken. Pity had been the only emotion in everyone's eyes…it didn't feel right to have that pity directed at him.

It didn't matter that his wound was healing at an inhuman rate…it didn't matter that his pain was slowly vanishing as he struggled to keep himself moving…all that matter was that he get home and try to turn this day in to tomorrow. Tomorrow would be better. It had to be.

After a few minutes of walking he finally reached the corner of his bakery…he stopped for a breather, he felt he really needed it.

"So you finally showed up." The voice was feminine…he'd heard it before.

He turned around to glare at the offending figure, it was the girl he had spoken with just a few days before…or was it weeks? He couldn't remember. Still…he had dreamed about her, he probably wouldn't have remembered her otherwise. 

That Digimon…*Renamon,* he remember, was behind her Tamer, leaning against the sidewall of an ally way. 

Right now he didn't care what the she wanted, or what she didn't want for that matter. All he wanted to do get some sleep; he couldn't care less about anything else.

"Leave me alone." He was trying to remain calm, despite the pain he was in and his lack of sleep over the past few days. "Can't you see I'm in no mood to play games right now?" Normally he wouldn't have remained silent…but he couldn't help it, he'd been tortured enough through out the day, she wasn't helping matters.

He turned back to the direction of the bakery, only to find Renamon blocking the way. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, and the look she gave him suggested that she wasn't going to move without a fight. 

Takato couldn't help but be defensive at a time like this, Renamon looked ready to block any move he tried to throw at her and he wasn't well enough prepared for something like this, they'd caught him off guard…he could feel himself starting to lose consciousness…and his hands were getting ready to draw is Katana…not a good thing.

Suddenly a loud explosion was heard in the direction of the young Matsuda's home. This loud noise was enough to snap him out of his daze, and the Tamer and her Digimon's attention were diverted from him, if only for a few moments.

Using the last of his strength, Takato dashed towards his home. His right hand had began to glow, a mark faintly traced by the light stood out beyond anything else, glowing brighter and brighter as he reached his destination…he gave off no sign of emotion to show he had witnessed this. Reaching for the doorknob, he was shocked as a multicolored beam broke through the door, launching him into an alleyway wall.

Pain blurred his vision and he cried out as he felt old wounds re-open, causing fresh blood to coat his clothing…still, he reach for his Katana, he had to defend himself…*Where is it?* 

He must have lost it when he had fallen, but it was too late for that now…Takato forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. That thing…he strained his eyes, searching out his opponent. Still, dust observed his vision, as well as the pain. Still…something was different…there something odd about the Digimon that had just thrown him into this alley wall…it didn't feel…evil. 

His eyes were starting to close…the symbol on his right hand developed a crimson color…the last thing Takato saw was his opponent approaching before being drawn into darkness.

******

Ruki mentally cursed at how stupid that 'Chosen' kid was behaving. She couldn't believe that the boy that had beaten her, of all people. Be defeated by a mere glitch of an Adult ChaosGarurumon. *What was that idiot thinking..?* 

He'd been stupid, thinking that he could just walk in there without his Digimon. He couldn't possibly defend himself. Then again…there was that Katana he carried with him…but could he use it? He'd lost it in the fall, though it didn't seem to matter, it was unlikely that he'd be getting up anytime soon.

*Where is his Digimon anyway..?* The main idea of catching him by himself was making sure he truly was alone. Strangely, it hadn't been hard. *I would have thought him and his Digimon went everywhere together.* It seemed like the logical thing to do, but then again, this boy didn't seem to know the meaning on it. If he had, maybe he would have been more cautious when trying to enter the house. 

Ruki forced herself to ignored those thoughts, there was still the Digimon to take care off. The ChaosGarurumon had exited the house, and noticed both Ruki and Renamon in the process. 

"Renamon-" Suddenly, Ruki stopped. What was that noise? An odd scrapping sound…like the sound of metal on pavement…

She turned to the direction of the sound and did a double take. The silver haired boy was standing in a pool of his own blood…his Katana in hand, and in a ready position. 

*What the hell?! Who the hell is this guy?!* 

He stared at his opponent, but no signs of recognition of the other things around him came over him as he brought his sword close to him. Eyes closed, the boy seemed to concentrate for a moment…suddenly bright blue flames covered the blade, and he returned to his original stance.

The ChaosGarurumon growled, angry at the boy's reaction to him. Ruki was still deciding what her reaction should be…this didn't feel right. ChaosGarurumon charged at his opponent, and Takato did the same, his Katana in hand…

Ruki suddenly recognized a new presence on the battlefield, one that hadn't been there just a few moments ago. "FOX LEAF ARROWHEAD!"

"Renamon! What are you doing?!"

…No reply came from her Digimon. Ruki thought about shouting a second time but knew it would be pointless. Her Digimon had to be ignoring her for some reason…it was the only explanation. Instead she watched as the thousands of energy arrowheads descended upon the weakened 'Chosen', almost in slow motion. At the same time she knew there was nothing she could do to stop the attack from hitting the boy, and because of that a feeling of guilty crept up on her…if he was hurt, it would have been her fault for not being able to control her own Digimon…she shoved those thoughts away, still watching as the arrowheads neared the boy. Suddenly, a whitish blur slammed into him, making him fall to his left, narrowly avoiding Renamon's attack.

"Good job, Terriermon!"

Ruki forced her eyes away from the battle scene before her to glance in the direction she'd heard the voice, she'd found it on her left side,

Ruki turned her gaze away from the battle and looked for the source of the voice. She found it on her left side.... *Not him again…*

Silently she cured to herself for not noticing the peace-loving tamer when he'd first arrived…however, she turned back to watch the battle once more, watching her Digimon attack the ChaosGarurumon in a berserk like method. Renamon had acted like this before, something was wrong…it had to be.

******

Just to note that in the next few days Tatsu and I will be going through the fic and editing a bit in the process, correcting grammar mistakes we've missed in the past, changing English names and attacks to the original Japanese they should be, and adding description. Only then will we begin working on the next chapter.


	9. Lust for Battle

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: I'm back! ^^ Anyone miss me? Err…guess not. Anyway, new chapter is done. I hope you all enjoy it. Special thanks to Phoenix, DC, James, Rachel, Ronda and Ken because the chapter probably would have never been finished if it weren't for you guys. Thanks again!

Disclaimer: *wonders why she has to put up a disclaimer because everyone knows that she doesn't own Digimon*

Chapter Nine: Lust for Battle

******

"Good job, Terriermon!"

"Thanks, Jen!" Terriermon called back, his excitement obvious. It was easily noticeable that his Digimon was loving the fact that he was joining the battle for what must have seemed like the first time in ages.

They'd been on the other side of the city when the radar on his D-Arc had gone off. His first thought had been to ignore it; one of the other tamers in the city would take care of it. Jenrya knew there was at least one other tamer in the city limits that knew how to take care of the wild Digimon, he'd even talked to her once, thought it hadn't been what he'd call an ideal conversation.

Still-knowing that there was a wild Digimon on the loose and ignoring it, wasn't really an option, he'd decided in the end. *You just needed an excuse to get out of fighting, didn't you?* He asked himself in annoyance. Just because he didn't want to fight...what if someone else got hurt because he hadn't been there to help out and maybe stop the wild Digimon from destroying everything? Still...something in the back of his mind continued to complain, telling him this wasn't fair. Had he asked to be protector of the city? It was hard, harder than he liked to admit, though the pressure had lessened now that he knew if he wasn't there, someone else stood a chance of stopping whatever new evil Digimon had arrived. And maybe there were still others he didn't know about...it was an encouraging thought, to say the least.

His mind already made up he'd headed to the battle scene, praying it wasn't too late to make a difference in the outcome of the fight that had most-likely started already. He knew there was still a chance of him being able to help out if the battle was not going in the other Tamers favor, though he knew it would involve more of Terriermon than himself. It didn't matter though, he knew of his partner's willingness to fight. He wasn't going to be disappointed tonight.

Which lead them both to where they were right now, though much had passed since they had first arrived.

Both of them had remained silent when arriving at the scene, amazingly enough even Terriermon had managed to keep his witty comments to himself after seeing what lay before them.

"Takato?!" Was that him? He couldn't be sure at this point in time. The sliver-haired boy he'd had shared a class with for the past few weeks held a katana in his hand now, defending himself against a large Chaos Garurumon…but the strangest thing of all was the fact that he was glowing… *Now that's not something you see everyday…*

And that girl again…the red-haired one. She stood just a little to their right, watching in shock as her Digimon ignored her completely. At the time he'd almost felt sorry for her. From what he'd seen, she seemed to take her battles very seriously, training her Digimon to be the best that it could be, and here it was ignoring her? It must have dealt quite a blow to her ego. Renamon might have been strong, but she would still have to work at her Digimon's obedience, which was lacking.

Maybe her and her Digimon needed to spend more time together and stop worrying about fighting all the time...then again, he shouldn't have been judging, he didn't know them, maybe their relationship went farther than even he could imagine and they just didn't show it on the battlefield. In some ways, that seemed like the logical thing to do. And then there was her Digimon's eyes...the look they gave off was nothing short of creepy, it was almost as if she wasn't really there, and therefore had no control of what she was doing...that's when they had jumped in to help.

******

Silently she cursed to herself for not noticing the peace-loving tamer when he'd first arrived. What was he doing here anyway?! It wasn't like she couldn't handle what was going on around her! She immediate admitted that thought to be a lie. True, she could usually handle the situations she managed to get herself into, with Renamon to back her up. But this one was different. She didn't have Renamon this time, and she was officially at a loss of what to do.

Still, she couldn't just do nothing. Ruki turned back to watch the battle once more, watching her Digimon attack the Chaos Garurumon in a berserk like method. Renamon had never acted like this before. Something was wrong…it had to be.

Ruki continued to watch the fight between both Chaos Garurumon and her own Digimon. She'd given up long ago when it came to putting a stop to the brutal battle as it raged on, at the moment she was having enough trouble regaining the control of her own Digimon let lone trying to stop the Adult on her own. However, her thoughts were ignoring him for the time being settling on Renamon.

*Why is she doing this?! This had never happened before….*

Quickly, she began to dig through her own pockets wondering if she had brought anything of use with her…of course there was her D-Arc, but how would that help? She didn't want to help her Digimon this time, she wanted to stop her! "Wait-that's it!"

With that said, Ruki pulled a deck of cards from her pocket. Flipping through them quickly she finally picked out the one she had been searching for. Holding the card in one hand and her D-Arc in the other, she sent a quick mental pray to anyone who was willing to listen, *"Please let this work…."*

"CARDSLASH!...Training Grips!"

Suddenly, a burst of light came from her D-Arc, blinding everyone in the area, including herself…when it cleared Renamon seemed to be trapped in some sort of restraint. Unable to move, she was forced to stop her attempts of reaching ChaosGarurumon, instead she concentrated on getting herself free from the restraints that bound her. Her berserk like method would not help her now, though. Though it seemed to give her extra strength and a certain sense around her that told everyone around her that she would stop at nothing, she suddenly seemed to lack the intelligence to stop and think about freeing herself. Instead she continued to struggle, her pitiful attempted doing nothing to free her.

"That should hold her for now. Not for long though…."

******

The Chaos Garurumon was almost overcome by the enticing scent of blood that his opponent seemed to spray the battleground with. His desire for battle was the only thing that kept him charging forward, rushing at his opponent blindly with not even the slightest bit of comprehension of what he was doing.

Suddenly a light emerged out of no where, blinding his sight; however, when he could see again…one of his annoyances was gone, bound by her own Tamer and unable to get in his way. Still…she needed to be properly deposed of.

He shot towards her at a run and head butted the kitsune off the field, watching as she landed beside her Tamer. Now there was only that pesky Terriermon to take care of. And then he could fight his true opponent…the Avatar…

******

"CHAOS FLAME!"

Terriermon's speed was the only thing that gave him a certain edge in this battle as a pure white blast flew at the spot he had once been standing. Instead of hitting him, the blast hit the wall, cutting through it as if it were a hot knife through butter.

"What's the matter? Am I too fast for you?" Terriermon asked in a mocking tone of voice, seemingly determined to annoy his opponent as much as possible. The Garurumon's angry growl signified that Terriermon's taunting was having the desired effect, and instead of ignoring the pesky Dog bunny Digimon, Terriermon had gained its undivided attention.

"Okay, so I've succeeded in getting the blast-happy Garurumon away from Takato, now what?" Options were limited, and it didn't help that he didn't have a plan, only instructions. Besides, what was going happen once the Garurumon caught on? It didn't look that stupid, and it would eventually figure out that he was only there as a distraction.

Finally returned to the matter at hand, Terriermon suddenly realized that Chaos Garurumon was charging at him a fierce look of determination in its eyes.

"CARD SLASH! …Speed Plug in H!"

Terriermon threw a quick thank you to his Tamer as he felt a new type of date entering his body through the use of the Digimon card Jen had just swiped through his D-Arc. Suddenly a new type of energy ran through him giving his speed capabilities a hyper boost. Terriermon raced away from the scene leaving his very confused opponent to slam face first into a wall.

"Sheesh, I've seen Bakumon with more brains then you!" Terriermon commented, with a kind of grin only seen after having his partner save his life again with his quick thinking, *"Couldn't do it without you, Jen."*

The entire structure of the wall had fallen over, leaving the Chaos Garurumon buried under the rubble, and, Terriermon thinking that the battle was already over. *"That was easier than I thought it would be...."*

What he didn't expect was the Chaos Garurumon to rise up from the load of concrete piled on top of him, and with a growl that signified both anger and frustration, to begin charging at him.

As soon as he heard the enraged Digimon, Terriermon jumped into the air and floated to the other side of the battlefield to avoid getting the Tamers involved. He held his ears to his left side, waving them up and down all the while shouting, "Toro, toro!" Like he had once seen on some gaijin show involving bulls and people trying to trick them.

"CHAOS FLAME!"

As the Digimon charged towards him it let loose a bright blue beam from it's mouth, surprising the unsuspecting Terriermon and freezing his ears into a block of ice, completely immobilizing the data type.

"Err...you know I was just kidding about the lower then a Bakumon intelligence thing, right?"

From the look on ChaosGarurumon's face, he didn't care if he had been joking or not.

"Uhh...momentai?"

******

The Chaos Garurumon smirked at the helpless Digimon before him. An annoyance…that's what it was. It would pay for preventing him from claiming his prize, which could have been his long ago, if not for the interruptions. He could practically taste the fear coming off his opponent in waves; it was so delicious he could feel his viral side taking over…

But, no…he wanted the annoyance to suffer, he wouldn't use physical attacks for this one…only his favorite.

"CHAOS FLAME!"

For the first time in the entire battle a stream of fire came from the mouth of the triumphant Garurumon. It caught an iced Terriermon, completely enveloping him in flame. As a result, Terriermon was left leaning against the wall he had hit from the force of the blast. His body badly burnt as he continued to phase in and out.

Listening, he could hear his Tamer searching frantically for what must have been a 'Seed of Health' card, and smirked dryly.

Finally, the annoyance spoke again, "Well…if I'm going to die, I ain't going to do it alone!" With that said he got to his feet, using his ears as balance, and preceded to gather his strength for a blazing fire attack, the strange thing was that he was holding it in…confusion fell upon everyone on the field. His body's form had begun flashing like a static filled television.

The Garurumon took one look at that action with suspicion, but almost immediately decided to forget about it due to his ignorance. Instead he opened his mouth to say something other than his usual attack, "Now this battle ends for you little one." He spoke with a taunting dark tone of voice, before proceeding to launch his one attack, "CHAOS FLAME!"

At the same time, the badly damaged Terriermon launched his own attack, "OMEGA BLAZING FIRE!" A fireball left from the child Digimon was almost as big as the child itself. His eyes were closing slightly…

The beam of pure energy cut threw the fire ball like a cannon ball threw a piece of paper, and when the beam hit the already damaged child; he burst into data, creating a large dome of light that surrounded the entire battlefield.

Terriermon was gone.

******

Elsewhere Culumon and Guilmon were having the time of their lives. By themselves, both of them played together, away from prying eyes.

Chasing each other around as they played tag and other games the little Digimon came up with. Guilmon was always happy to agree with whatever he wanted anyway, all of his games sounded fun.

While he didn't look it Culumon was worried about his new friend, after all when the sun was actually in the sky his friend started to go "nutty" for some reason. Maybe his new friend was crazy..? Either way, Culumon knew the games were helping distract his friend from whatever was going on around them. His eyes, no longer red with anger, weren't gleaming with happiness either, but had taken on a slightly dulled look. He was looking better, though. His markings weren't shinning like they had done before, either. That had to be a good sign. After a few more minutes Culumon even forgot that his friend had lost it for a bit.

However, that changed when, suddenly, Guilmon lost his current interest of having fun. His symbols began glowing as pain swept through Guilmon's body, almost like lightening had hit him, and in response he fell to the ground, curling up into a ball as if he thought if might stop the pain coursing through him.

Sadly, his new friend mistakenly thought he was doing something else, "Come on, Guilmon! Culu! You're supposed to hop like a Koromon not curl up like an Armadimon…culu. Are you listening to me?"

The enigmatic baby level two Digimon tried to get his friend's attention but there seemed to be no point. "Why is he ignoring me? Culu…"

Suddenly, Guilmon's markings turned a reddish color, his red eyes glowing....

"Culu! Guilmon, stop being silly! Culu, what are you doing?"

"GUILMON EVOLVE TO…GROWMON!"

In the place of a child-like dinosaur, a much larger version of itself stood in replacement. Only this version had wings. His eyes still glowing a fierce and fiery red he spoke, his voice no louder then a whisper, "Takatomon…in danger…must protect…." The symbols that covered the newly formed Growmon's body began to glow even brighter, till it almost hurt just to look at him.

"Whoa…" Culumon spoke, nothing but pure amazement in his voice. "Wait for me!"

Growmon took off into the sky, never noticing the added weight to his tail, or the happy squeal of, "WEEEEEEEEE!" that came from his unknown passenger.

******

Jenrya tore his eyes off the battlefield to look at his D-arc…for the first time in his life, it held nothing but static.

His partner was gone…it was hard to accept it but he knew it was the truth…he knew something had happened to him no matter how much he wanted to deny it.

"I shouldn't have let him battle…." He spoke in a tone barely over a whisper, tears threatening to spill over onto his cheeks. In letting his partner and best friend in the world fight, he had helped in his own destruction. "I'm sorry, Terriermon...it wasn't supposed to end like this..!" Something told him he had done the right thing it didn't help to ease the pain, though.

Suddenly, he gasped in shock as he felt his D-arc as slowly it began to give off heat…hotter and hotter it got until finally it got to be so his hand had begun to burn and he was forced to drop it. He watched as the entire device save for the view screen and the circle of green that surrounded it began to change into a bright red. He could actually see smoke rising from the device as if to prove it was really burning. *"As if the burn on my hand wasn't enough."* He thought grimly. Suddenly, the device began to cool down, but at the same time, not returning to its original colors of pale silver and emerald green. Its new form had taken away the silver and replaced it was pitch black, but keeping it's normal emerald green at the same time.

After the smoke was long gone and he was sure he felt no heating coming off of it, Jenrya picked up his D-Arc and pointed it at the large dome of light before him, getting a 'Unknown Digimon' in response. Suddenly the dome vanished and a new Digimon stood in replacement of what had once been his Terriermon.

This new Digimon wore blue jeans and a golden ammo belt across its chest, and was covered in midnight black fur everywhere save for it's face where a mask of green coloring covered from just past the unknown digimon's mouth to just about the end of it's long ears the tip was a darker green that seemed to mix with the black fur. It also had five orange markings; two under each of its eyes and one diamond shaped one on its forehead. On it's arms were two massive multi-barreled gattling guns, each one both as large as the mysterious digimon's head.

Once again, Jenrya brought his D-arc out to survey the new Digimon but this time received a response, "Black Galgomon, an adult Digimon who despite being the dark evolution of Terriermon or it's counterpart Black Terriermon is still a vaccine…it's attacks are the same as Galgomon's."

Jenrya glanced at the Digimon, expecting a sarcastic comment that would confirm him as being his one and only Terriermon…but got in return only glowing red eyes….

Soulless, red eyes…

******

The Garurumon stared at his new opponent with a look of hate. Not only should his attack have deleted that pathetic child, but it should have erased his entire data formation from existence; however, somehow the child had not only managed to survive the attack, but had evolved into a new, and much more powerful form than before.

It was almost as if he was mocking him…worse than any words could possibly do. The mongrel Digimon was mocking his strength, his pride, his power in which his opponent must have believed was much weaker than his own…he was sadly mistaken though. He was a disgrace to the Digimon race, working with those humans. He could not...no, he would not be defeated by such a being.

"I will not be defeated by a Digimon that must take charity from humans because he cannot defend himself on his own!" Readying himself to fire yet another attack he was stopped when Black Galgomon raised his arms. His opponent would obviously not be so easily defeated. It's eyes glowing a fiery red, a mischievous grin appeared on it's face, before turning into a much more sinister grin.

"GATTLING ARM!"

It was at that point in time that all hell broke loose.

******

"Huh..? Where am I?"

Takato suddenly awoke to a symphony of pain that could even make an ultimate leveled Digimon cry. Pain…everywhere. It made it hard to concentrate, to think of anything else other than the stinging sensation coursing through his body. He could feel all of the cuts and other wounds he had manage to gain over the past few days open up. But one thing confused him…one thing he had come to realize just a while after Guilmon came into being was that any type of injury he happened to receive would had disappeared within 24 hours or so. These injuries lasted though…it was mind boggling to think that he abnormal healing rate would suddenly change over night. It didn't make sense, to say the least.

And to top it all off, he felt as if he had been awake for months upon end, his eyes stung like hell as if telling him to embrace the darkness that called to him.

But, despite all this, he still has his katana. It lay in one of his hands, face down on the ground. Still, he could have sworn he had dropped it when he'd hit the wall…

How he'd ended up in his position, he did not know. It was completely different than the one he had once been it before he lost conciseness…it was almost as if he had been acting without feeling, having no clue of what he was doing…the thought disturbed him. That was the only conclusion besides the fact that someone could have maybe placed him in this position. But why would someone do that? Too many unanswered questions.

Suddenly, new presence's distracted him from his feelings of confusion and distress…Guilmon, he was nearing the area, and together, he knew that they could do anything, unanswered questions, or not.

But, wait-there was more than just Guilmon. There was a disturbance, something he had not felt until now. Looking up, Takato finally realized that it was the two other Digimon on the field: Black Galgomon wearing a sinister grin, far from encouraging considering the look on his partner's face; and, Chaos Garurumon, where Black Galgomon's were fixed on, not letting the Digimon out of his sight, and his opponent watching him just as closely. Black Galgomon was ready for action, though the same could not be said for the Garurumon.

"GATTLING GUN!"

The guns of the recently evolved form of Terriermon began to spin around, faster and faster. Suddenly, thousands of energy bullets were being fired, directly at Chaos Garurumon. Luckily for him, he seemed to have enough sense to turn away, and for the bullets that had been meant for his head, instead penetrated his stomach and shoulder. Takato looked away, an almost pained expression on his face. He could handle fighting; he'd dealt with it a lot in his past few years of living with Guilmon. But to watch a Digimon being pumped full of holes, and to still survive...it was wrong; the Digimon should have been put out of its misery long ago.

It was phasing…in…and out, now. A tale-tell sign that it was dying.

However, for whatever reason, Black Galgomon did not stop firing. Instead, the sinister grin had grown bigger before, and he was now enjoying shooting at anything in the area, turning around and around, firing in all directions.

*"Why doesn't he stop?! Can't he see that he'll end up hurting one of us?!* While Takato may have been half dazed he did know one thing about the situation:

Black Galgomon was enjoying every moment of his on attack.

Jenrya was smart enough to hide, away from the flying of bullets…but the girl… "Ruki..?" She was still standing there, a shocked expression on her face. She had been standing there the entire time, and yet it had not noticed until now. In a spilt second, he reacted, a run and tackle and suddenly both of them were down.

But the pain…in engulfed him, as he felt several objects pierce the skin of his left arm. He felt sick, when he thought to hard about it…one person could only tolerate so much pain in one day…instead, he distracted himself with his thoughts, *"I guess she's still in shock…must be considering she hasn't tried to hurt me yet, but then again, I think I'm doing a good enough job of hurting myself at this moment in time."*

He winced. *"Is this what it feels like to die…?"* He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Still, if it had been protecting that girl… *I guess dying wouldn't be that bad if it was for her...* Finally, his thoughts drifted back to his Guilmon, *Where are you, Guilmon..?* His eyes were closing by now; he was too damn tired to worry himself by such things….

Slowly, he drifted into unconscieness.

******

Elsewhere, in the skies over West Shinjuki, a red and black, demon-like creature could be seen flapping his giant black wings in a furious motion. His eyes burned with such an intense fire that the night sky around him seemed to light up around him. To anyone who looked up into the sky would have thought they saw a giant fireball through the dense clouds surrounding the area.

The demon-like creature snarled, glowing out a simple phrase in its own bestial manner; uttering three words as if they were a mantra:

"Must…help…Takatomon!"

******

On a nearby rooftop, overlooking the once prosperous Matsuda Bakery, a mysterious figure could be seen, wearing what looked to be a hooded cloak. The figure's gender, as well as age, was masked in mystery. In fact, nothing that could help in identifying the person was visible.

It watched the prone and bleeding form of Takato who was acting as a shield for the Kitsune's Tamer, who seemed to be unconscious.

While observing the pair, and paying little to no attention to the out-of –control

While observing the pair, and paying little attention to the out-of-control BlackGalgomon, a few drops of rain hit the figure. Then another few. Rain drops being to fall from the sky at a slow pace, but eventually exceeding at a faster rate. It was now pouring, and though this was not astonishing (West Shinjuku often received rain such as this), the unnatural speed in which the change took place was.

The mysterious figure turned its head to the sky to observe for the first time, the clouds that had mysteriously appeared overhead. And, while doing so, the hood of the cloak it wore fell down…revealing feminine face.

The flashes of lightening overhead illuminated her figure even more, all the way down to the mask of metal that covered the top half of her face. Her body was covered in a cloak, masking her figure.

Taking her eyes away from the sky, the unknown female cursed and brought a hand to her chest, taking a small star shaped pendent into her hand. In result, a blue light surrounded her form…almost immediately she began to fade away, as if she were being erased. Before completely disappearing, she turned her head back to face the unconscious chosen boy, a smirk appearing on her illuminated face.

"Soon…" Her almost hauntingly beautiful voice whispered. She turned her head away from the battle, looking at the ground before closing her eyes. "...The chaotic one shall meet his end, and with him…the demon."

With these last words spoken, the female vanished completely, gone without a trace. To most, it was like she had never even existed.

******

*Click, click*

Black Galgomon's mischievous look of glee vanished as soon as he heard that sound, pausing he tried to activate his guns once more.

*Click, click*

His guns were dry…his energy gattling guns were both dry…

Slowly his eyes, starting to loose their red glow, began to regain the intelligence they had once held, "Wha-What happened?"

Everything around him was filled with bullet holes, the ground full of craters as well. He saw the static-like form of Chaos Garurumon, the damaged body of Takato, and Jenrya who seemed to be hiding behind a dumpster, looking at him, his eyes filled with fear.

"What's with the look..?" He asked his Tamer, still confused as to what had happened.

"YOU!" An angry voice behind him growled out.

Black Galgomon turned towards the voice, only to dodge a stream of fire, he looked up to see what looked like a demonic dragon, unlike any he had ever seen glaring down upon him.

The angry eyes of the demonic dragon sent shivers down the adult digimon's spine, not to mention its body was something that even a Devimon would have nightmares about. And, oh yeah, must not forget that red fire-like energy that seemed to radiate off the beast….

*Hmm…lets see, bring in the mail, avoid Shuichon until Jen gets home from school, have a nap…no, fighting a demon-like dragon was not on the to-do list!* Right now, his only response to meeting this Digimon was to run like hell and find safer ground.

*No, I'm not a coward…okay, maybe I am in some situations (the thought of Shuichon came to mind), but I'm not an idiot either…facing an airborne beast in an alleyway would definitely not be a good idea…*

A sharp whistling was heard in the air, and Black Galgomon jumped out of the way, just as the winged beast tried to dive-bomb him. After landing on the ground, Black Galgomon turned around and winced as he saw the creature had just about landed head first into the ground, into a pile of metal beams.

A small white creature suddenly emerged from what much have been his hiding spot on the beast's tail, and started to try and shake the beast into awakening, "Come on, culu…wake up, Guilmon!"

Black Galgomon took a step back, *How could waking that thing up possibly be a good thing?! Hey, wait a second…Guilmon?! No, it couldn't be….*

The red haze around the dragon creature seemed to intensify. Instead of the illusion of fire he had seen earlier, he could now actually feel the heat that flame was giving off. Small golden triangles also began to glow and make themselves known upon the black rings that covered the demon's body. Without warning, it burst out of the ground, shrapnel spreading everywhere and a look of primal rage upon its face. Its eyes were no longer visible under the glowing red that surrounded them.

Surprisingly enough, blood seemed to be running down its face where he had been hurt.

*What the-? What is this thing?! I've never seen a Digimon bleed before….*

However, the little white creature didn't seem to care about the blood, "Culu! This is no more fun, Guilmon!" The only response he received was to be shoved out of the way by one of Guilmon's massive arms. Opening his mouth, he began to inhale, a fire growing inside….

"Well, two can play at this game." He spoke with an almost amused tone, despite the situation, "If you want to fight, then I'll give you a fight to remember." With that said Black Galgomon raised his hands and cocked his guns….

*Click, click*

…A faint but audible hissing sound rose from the barrels of his energy gattling guns, the tell-tale sign of metal cooling when it should have been hot and blasting energy. It also slipped him another piece of important information: He was dead meat.

Glancing over to Jen he could tell that he was really in trouble. Usually his Tamer had a backup plan if something failed, but this time all he got was a helpless look. He didn't know what do either.

Finally, the dragon shut his mouth before thrusting his head forward and releasing a jet of flames from his mouth.

Black Galgomon watched as the flames neared him, knowing that he couldn't jump out of the way in time, knowing that this was end…just as he was reborn he was going to die again, how unfair.

However, the flames never reached Black Galgomon, surprisingly enough, something else blocked it instead. The small white creature had jumped in the way of blast, taking the whole thing full on himself.

*That tiny creature got in the way? But why?*

Suddenly, all light in the area seemed to center on one point, an orb of blue light surrounded the small creature as he began to rise into the area extending its ears and its symbols flashing bright red. However, the sphere around it began to expand until it slowly began to cover the entire area, despite what his instincts told him. Black Galgomon couldn't move any of his limbs, and from the look of things, neither could anyone else in the area.

Bit by bit, his energy being torn away from him, Black Galgomon watched as the same fate fell upon the other creatures.

******

Jenrya, feeling a little worse for ware, rose from the ground behind the convenient dumpster that he had hide behind, and looked at his surroundings, wincing slightly.

The building that he had once watched his 'friend' enter only a few days ago, looked as if was about to collapse, the walls were broken and busted, and it now had a hole that went through the length of the building, not to mention a few others…

*There goes Takato's house…*

He was just about to call out for his partner, when suddenly all light in the area centered on one point which began to glow blue, maybe just a few blocks away. He didn't know what had happened, but ran towards the light as if his life depended on it…

When he arrived he was greeted with the slight of his partner in his alternate child form, shivering from the night cold and rain, but sleeping as well. And, though he didn't know why, he felt safer with him like this, a more innocent expression on his Digimon's face as he slept. It definitively wasn't the face of a killer…he didn't want to hurt anyone.

"Come on, Terriermon. It's been a long day, let's go home…."

Gently, he picked up his Digimon, and began the walk home.

******

Ruki awoke from her unwanted slumber to the sounds of ragged breathing. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by a boy's sleeping face next to her own.

Immediately she felt her face heat up, and by utilizing the self-dense classes her grandmother had signed her up for, she threw the offending body away from her own. For a moment her mind was blank as to what caused these events to occur, and she got to her feet, looking around in hopes of sparking a memory into awakening.

The grounds were the battle had taken place were utterly demolished, the buildings around her looking as if someone had gone trigger-happy with a machine gun, if not something bigger.

The flash of a gun-toting, black and emerald green furred creature popped into her head, and she couldn't help but curse in frustration as she realized she had been beaten once again, not to mention humiliated…and she still hadn't gotten what she had come for.

She heard the noise of metal grinding against hard concrete and turned to find out what it was. The red-haired Tamer found her partner with what looked to be a very beat up and bloodied boy on her shoulder. She started to speak but stopped as the sound of sirens came roaring from what seemed to be a few streets away.

Not wanting to be caught and questioned about her activities in the area, Ruki gave a signal to her Digimon to stay silent and to get home as quickly as possible. 

With that done, they vanished into the night.

******

Please leave a review!

*goes off to work on the next chapter…* ^^


	10. Between Dreams and Nightmares

Digimon 03: A Darker Beginning

A/N: Well, I'm back (well, more like _we_) with a chapter for your viewing pleasure. Just to warn you that we have changed the ages around of most of the characters, due to some problems…but it's fan fiction, so we're allowed to do that. Don't sue. To note, Takato in the prologue is around 6 or 7 years old, and in the present Takato, Ruki, and Jenrya are between 11 to 12. Hopefully we'll be posting revised versions of all the chapters before this one soon. Hopefully. 

Have a good read. :)

Disclaimer: You already knew what I was going to say before I said it, didn't you? I don't own Digimon.

Chapter Ten: Between Dreams and Nightmares

******

For the first time since the subway massacre, Hypnos' digital scanners were officially offline. Actually it was more then that; the entire building had been shut down.

The reason being: just a few days ago the Hypnos facilities had been evacuated by order of its Executives, for repairs. It had been a little over a week ago that a few of their computers had been mysteriously fried during an abnormal anomaly's arrival. That case had yet to be solved.

However, on this day the building was not as empty as it should have been…

In the command room of the Hypnos' facilities, was the largest viewing screen in the country. Usually said viewing screen was reserved for digital scanning and anomaly detection, but today must have been the exception, for a video was being played on it. However this video was not your typical store bought DVD or VHS type, but a video of a previous battle near the location of the old Mastuda Bakery…

Reika-san, magnify the blurred image on sector 45c\23b of the footage to 600%"

Yamaki sat in the assistant's chair, a deep frown set upon on his face, while he watched the footage from earlier that evening play out on the giant "wall sized" viewing screen.

No matter what he did and despite the amount of time he spent focusing on the video, only two figures appeared blurred.

"Yamaki-san, the footage magnification is set to your set perimeters." Reika finally replied in a tone that meant nothing but business exactly, how Yamaki liked it.

But this time, it was different.

Yamaki wasn't focusing upon the blurs, but more so on the blackish liquid that lingered on the ground. From the beginning and until the end, it remained there and he could not figure out what it was or how it had come to be.

Yamaki watched as the puddle of black liquid slowly gained a more reddish hue….

"Is that...blood? If so...where's the body...?"

He looked once more and noticed that it seemed to be rippling closer to one of the blurs, and nearly lost his temper for what felt like the sixth time since he'd arrived in the control room just a few hours before. Of all the expensive equipment this company possessed and the years he had spent monitoring the Digital plane, they couldn't even identify two blurs. "Pathetic." He thought with annoyance, "This is all just a waste of my time. I'm getting nowhere!"

"DAMN IT!"

Reika turned to the sound of the voice, watching as Yamaki slammed his fist onto the computer counsel in rage, and virtually breaking the machinery in the process. Reika's eyes continued to follow his movements closely, a puzzled expression crossing her face.

Unlike Yamaki, she couldn't lock her feelings inside as he did. All emotions were hidden beneath a shield of ice, and it was rare that this shield ever showed the slightest chance of weakening. Even at home he was like this, even in their most private moments together. And yet, that was what he had just done. The shield had fallen, and he'd revealed some of the frustrations he was facing alone, as always.

"Lets go, Reika. We're not going to get anything from these machines."

His last words had been filled with such venom that she almost felt sorry for him. He'd put so much work into this, only to give up now. But it was startling nonetheless. The normal Yamaki wouldn't have settled for anything less than success, and what was being displayed before her now, was much less than usual.

He had never given up on anything that infuriated him, and setbacks only made him work harder. Yamaki's determination was what Reika admired about him more than anything. He was stubborn, more so than any man she had ever known. Yet this time was different and Reika couldn't really say she liked the change.

"Now, Reika!"

The operator was suddenly startled from her musings when Yamaki called to her yet again. Quickly gathering her things, she headed followed him out the door.

******

Takato moaned as he slowly picked himself off the floor. _"What hit me..?"_

After a long and hard struggle against gravity he got to his feet. Opened his eyes slowly, he was forced to squint due to the sudden amount of light hitting his eyes.

After taking a few seconds to gain his bearings he began to examine his surroundings, hoping to at least find some clue as to where he was or how he had gotten here. Still he couldn't shake the feeling that continued to pester him, it was almost as though he'd been here before.

He turned around, finally noticing the still form of a child, a boy to be exact. He was young, but not as old as himself. Seven, maybe eight-years-old, and with chestnut brown hair. He sat at a desk, the only one in the room.

"Hey, kid-" He started to speak, but stopped himself. He was trying to start a conversation with someone he didn't even know, not to mention that he wasn't supposed to be there. But maybe the kid could help him figure out where exactly 'there' was.

Either way, it didn't matter now. The boy didn't seem to have heard him, in fact it was almost as if he didn't even know Takato existed. Perhaps he was deaf? Takato slowly walked over to the desk, standing only a foot away from the boy.

Kneeling right beside him, he waved his hand in front of the boy's face, only to receive no response. _"That's strange…."_ He thought. Maybe in the boy's eyes, Takato truly didn't exist. Like he wasn't really here…

It was then that Takato looked into the boy's eyes they were maroon, a unique color for a boy his age. In fact he'd never seen eyes like that besides his own. It was almost creepy in a way, but then again, most of what was going on around him now was creepy.

It was then that he became distracted by voices. Those of a man and a women carried from downstairs. It sounded like a fight was going on, though he couldn't quite make out their words. The entire scene before him was so damn familiar and yet he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Where the hell am I?!" He was becoming more than just frustrated now. All of this, not knowing what was going on and where he was confusing him and he felt a headache coming on. He didn't like being left out of important events, and that was exactly what was happening.

It was then that the boy moved. Slowly, he got up from his chair and turned to face Takato still, he didn't seem to notice him. But, for Takato, this was just another piece of this confusing puzzle. "He looks just like me…" And it was true, now that they stood, face-to-face, Takato felt almost like he was looking in a mirror. They had the same hair, though now his older self had silver instead of the original chestnut, and the same facial features well, minus the scar his younger self had yet to receive. It was amazing, and at the same time it scared the hell out of him. The only real different was in size, Takato being quite a bit taller than the younger boy. As shocked as he was he knew that the boy that stood before him was him.

_"Is that really me...? Me from the past?"_

Suddenly, those eyes that had been the first real clue to his younger self began to glow a deep crimson color. The color of blood. He watched silently as he picked up a card from his desk. But, the moment he did so, the card seemed to spark with electricity, as if reacting to the boy's touch. In fact, it was almost as if the electricity was coming from the boy himself maybe it was, but at the time, Takato couldn't tell.

Takato squinted in hopes of seeing the picture on the card as the boy put it into his pocket. To his surprise; it was a Prototype Guilmon card.

The boy turned, as though he were ready to walk away, however he suddenly tossed the card away from him as it began to expand. The Light was so intense that Takato had to cover his eyes as it filled the entire room. "I don't remember this happening…." A figure appeared from the card, one that was about the size of Takato. 

When the light cleared, and Takato could see again, his eyes opened wide in shock… in the card's place was Guilmon… with eyes just as soulless as the younger Takato.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Suddenly, the room became to shift, and Takato, not knowing what to do, had no choice but to go where it took him. Eventually, he found himself in an entryway to another room. The younger boy was there again, standing in front of him. Again, though this time Takato was not as surprised to find, he did not acknowledge his presence.

Glancing behind him, he saw a women lying on the ground. She also did not acknowledge his company, although Takato could tell that it was for entirely different reasons. Her eyes lay open, unblinking and unmoving. It was as though she was unable to believe what had just happened to her, whatever it had been. He didn't need to check her pulse to be sure; Takato knew she was dead.

The boy, still oblivious to the fact that Takato was standing right behind him, now had a cut just above his left eye and held a bloodied katana in his hand.

"Guilmon…."

By only speaking the creature's name, it seemed to know what he was asking for. The creature turned to the carcass of the dead adult male.

"FIREBALL!"

A bright ball of flame shot out of the creature's mouth and towards the dead body. When finished, only a charred spot with dried blood remained on the ground.

The young Matsuda could only stare in horror as the people around him started to fade away, and then…

He was alone.

Takato looked at his hands for the first time since he had arrived only to see that he was holding the bloodied katana that the boy, no, now he was hold his own katana that was covered in blood. Startled he dropped the Japanese blade, and backed away from it slowly, terrified of his once favorite weapon.

It was then he heard it.

**Drip, drip.**

_"What..? Rain? Inside, though?"_

He cupped his hands, looking to the ceiling to determine where the rain was coming from. Slowly, the liquid began to collect in his hands. _"It's warm."_ He thought confused. The storms he could remember were ice cold, the kind you sat inside for while looking out your window and drinking hot chocolate. He almost smiled with nostalgia. Instead he took a deep breath and unable to find the source of rain, looked down with apprehension.

It was not clear liquid that collected in his hands. In fact, he was horrified to find his hands coated in a red, almost black liquid.

"B-blood..?" He asked with disbelief.

"Murderer!" He spun around as voice no louder than a whisper called to him. It was the unmistakable voice of Katou Juri who spoke to him so harshly.

"Murder!" Louder this time, it was Growmon who spoke, growling menacingly.

"You killed them!" A voice that sounded much like Kai yelled. 

Looking around wildly, Takato could find no one. But those voices…

"You killed us! Why?!" Now it was his mother, father, and others he had met within the past five years, although the only one that stood out besides his parents was Sakura.

"I-I…I didn't. I didn't do it. It was Vamdemon! I didn't kill them…" He spoke, his voice unsteady. "Vamdemon killed him, It's Not My Fault!" Takato fell to his knees.

Takato looked around himself to find no one there, not a soul… but he could still hear the voices…

"Murderer!" They still accused him, his parents laying there. His mother her broken neck, and yet her eyes were fiery and wild as she spoke, and his father, no, a corpse that slowly let flames lick away at it.

"Murderer!" He could clearly hear the venom in that one word, despite the blank look in her eyes. Sakura in her summer Kimono stood before him, covered in blood. Behind her stood others. A few of them had been friends he had made in Okinawa. A young boy and girl. The boy had bandages over his eyes, while the girl was in a wheel chair. He had failed to protect both of them from a rampaging Monochromon.

"Die for your sins, Demon!" Suddenly a women in a cloak came out from nowhere and with these words she plunged her glowing sword into him.

******

"I DIDN'T DO IT!"

Takato awoke with a start, bring his right hand to his face, which was filled with nothing short of angst.

_"It's a lie! I couldn't have done that, could I?"_

Reluctantly, Takato laid back down on his futon. _"No,"_ He thought weakly, _"I can't think of that now. It can't be true…"_ As soon as his head hit his pillow he was asleep so quickly, one would have thought he were dead.

******

In the hallway outside the room, Ruki shut the door to where Takato was recovering, and walked to her room lost in thought.

_"What was that all about…? What didn't he do?"_ Even more questions filled her mind.

Her mission was a failure. Now, once again, even though this time she had the source of all her questions, all she earned were even more questions instead of answers about the Gogglehead. 

"Just what are you hiding within that past of yours, Goggles?"

******

"Kenta, you should have seen it, there I was surrounded by four Monochromon, when suddenly…" 

Hirokazu, paused to take a bite of his lunch; a sandwich, and a gulp of his soda then continued his story of his supposed battle.

"Where was I? Oh yeah, I was getting to the best part! Me and Hagurumon were surrounded by four Monochromon and then thanks to my genius maneuver I slash a Win Ratio 50% and evolved Hagurumon into Guardromon and after a slash of a few Power boosters, Guardromon slices and dices all the Monochromon no sweat with his 'Warning Laser'!"

Both Kenta and Hirokazu sat in the clubhouse, Hirokazu going on and on with obvious exaggeration, while waving the device they'd found the other day as he imitated the fights he'd supposedly been it, and Kenta half listening while he organized his Digimon cards.

When Hirokazu had called him earlier this morning, it had sounded like he had something important to tell him, and yet all he had done so far was tell him far fetched stories about Digimon he'd defeated in the past and with his own, real, live Digimon?! He was almost positive that his best friend had gone off the deep end.

"Digimon? Real? Who is he trying to kid, anyway? There's no way—" 

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Hirokazu demanded. Kenta was amazed. He would have thought that Hirokazu could go on for hours without interruption, but he obviously wanted Kenta's full attention.

"Yeah, I'm listening…." He said with a small sigh, and a roll of his eyes.

"But you don't believe me, do you?"

Kenta looked up sharply, to see Hirokazu's accusing expression.

"Well…."

"Oh, come on, Kenta! You're just jealous you don't have one of your own!" Hirokazu stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

The blue haired boy rose to the challenge, "Am not!"

"Are too! You just don't like the idea that I'm a good enough Digimon card player to receive a Digimon and your not! Face it, I kick your butt every time we play. I'm obviously the better battler."

_"Only because you cheat."_ Kenta's thought angrily, though he refused to say it out aloud. He knew it might be the end of their friendship if he ever did, _"Besides, you doesn't always win. I've put up a pretty good fight at times…."_

Instead he said, "Fine, prove it then. If you have a real Digimon, then show him to me!"

"Fine. I will!"

"What?" Kenta asked, shocked. If anything he had expected his friend to make some sort of excuse. Did he really think he had a real Digimon? It was too late to ask questions, though. The boy with the visor was already out the door. Kenta followed.

"Hey, Hagurumon!' Hirokazu called to the bushes that lay to the left of the clubhouse. "Come out, will ya?"

They waited. Nothing. They waited longer. Still nothing.

His friend almost smirked, and expression that didn't look particularly flattering on him. "I guess he isn't coming maybe you should just give up and admit to the truth. There's no such thing as a live Digimon, Hirokazu. It's just a card game!"

But Hirokazu's know-it-all expression hadn't changed a bit, "He'll come." Again he shouted towards the bushes, "Come on, Hagurumon, I know you're there! I saw you following me before!"

Kenta was starting to feel a little worried, _"Does he really think he has his own live Digimon…? Maybe something's really wrong with him. Is he sick or something?"_

Suddenly, a voice came from the bushes, "Are you sure, Kazu-san?" You told me I should stay out of sight…."

Kenta eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, _"No way! This is got to be some kind of joke! Digimon aren't real!"_

"Don't worry, it's okay." Hirokazu stated, still wearing that expression. "He's a friend of mine."

"Well, if you're sure…" There was a noise heard from the bush before a gear was seen, then another, and another. Three of them, and on the largest one was a face that smiled at him, his red eyes shining brightly as he floated before the two boys. Kenta's eyes had gone wider than he ever thought possible.

"Hello," the Digimon before him continued to smile, "My name is Hagurumon. And you would be…?"

"K-Kenta." He managed to stutter, almost completely lost for words. "You _are_ real, aren't you?"

"Man…" Hirokazu put a hand on his forehead, "You're really dense, aren't you? Of course he's real!"

Kenta only reply was to reach out and poke the Digimon in his left gear, "Wow…."

"Ha! I bet you're sorry for doubting me now, aren't you?"

"No kidding." His shocked expression was finally gone, replaced with a smile, "How cool! Your own Digimon!"

"Hey, were a team!"

"A team…?"

"Yeah! Hirokazu's team! We can defeat any Digimon that gets in our way"

"...Can I be a part of your team?"

"Sure! I think were looking for a mascot!" Hirokazu laughed.

"Hey!" But he was laughing, too. Soon all three of them were.

Both Hirokazu and Kenta laid of the soft grass looking up at the sky, as Hagurumon floated around admiring the scenery.

"So, are you going to tell anyone else?"

His friend gave a half shrug, "Not sure."

They stayed like that for well over an hour, all of them engrossed in their own thoughts. _"Man, Hirokazu's sure is lucky. I'm sorry I doubted him before. Now if only I could have my own Digimon…."_

******

Ruki was doing what she would do on most days, kneeled in her room while wearing her usual 'Tamer' garb; some blue jeans with holes in the knees with a few tears here-and-there on the bottom of the pants legs. Along with that she wore a white T-shirt with a broken blue heart.

While this was the usual thing to do when there was nothing going on outside, the reason she was kneeling on the floor in her room was not to practice her gaming skills, or to organize her cards. Actually, the reason she was kneeling was something completely different entirely.

She was aiding her Digimon in the task of taking care of the mysterious Matsuda Takato.

The reason being for this uncharacteristic action was thanks largely due to her own self, some quick thinking, and some vague words used against her….

**- Flashback -**

Ruki quietly entered her yard with Renamon following her using her usual "Fox Change Void" technique to avoid being spotted while transporting the "Chosen."

Without a word Ruki quietly started to walk to her front door, and entered the house.

When she was in her home, she removed her shoes and placed them near the front door, and then walked as quietly as she could to her room so as not to draw the attention of her mother and grandmother… and to avoid another lecture from her mother about "being out late".

_"Like she's never out."_ Ruki had thought with a snort of annoyance.

Avoiding the kitchen area, she stealthily walked towards her room with practiced ease, and then entered her room.

******

Just as Ruki shut her door, Renamon appeared in the center of the room carrying the mysterious Matsuda Takato within her arms.

As Renamon appeared, Ruki had already headed towards her closet and removed an extra futon, and had set it out. It was a good thing she had remembered that her mother had placed it in their hopes that she'd one day bring a friend over to spend the night.

Of course she was now using it for a different purpose, meaning this boy wasn't her friend, and she was only aiding him because; she felt bad that he was injured and because she wanted answers that only this boy would give.

It may have not have been used for its original purpose, but at least the futon that had been taking up dust for over two years would finally become useful. With that thought aside, Ruki quickly removed the covers from the futon and had Renamon ease the silver-haired boy onto the padding.

She knew without a doubt that he needed to be checked for injuries before they did anything else with him, and if she remembered the battle correctly, she was very sure the boy had many cuts and bruises.

With a slash of Renamon's left paw, Takato's shirt was torn down the front to reveal…blood, and lots of it, as well as some bandages that were wrapped around his entire torso.

_"Where'd he get that…?"_ She questioned internally.

Taking a second glance she noticed not only was his entire chest covered in blood, but the bandages themselves were covered in dried blood. _"Odd…"_ But, if she was going to be able to examine him more thoroughly she needed to get some water to get those bandages off.

Now realizing that water was needed she quickly left her room, and went to the kitchen. When she entered it, she automatically got a cup from the cabinet filled it with water and left without noticing her mother and grandmother's questioning looks.

She entered her room and dumped the liquid over Takato's chest and watched as most of the wet blood slipped away. She frowned when it didn't seem to affect the dried blood at all, and it took several trips to and from the kitchen before that was possible, and even then the bandages still wouldn't allow themselves to be removed.

Renamon's claws put an end to that annoyance.

It was now that she saw the damage that the young Matsuda had; it shocked her enough to make her gaze incredulously at the mysterious boy that lay upon her extra futon. Though she'd lectured herself on keeping her face completely blank in these types of situations, she was forced to look away.

_"This couldn't have possibly happened during the battle, Garurumon never laid a claw on him…he obviously received it before the battle…"_ But how was he still alive, then..? Any normal person would have died of blood loss.

While she continued with her musings, Renamon took her leave to find some fresh bandages and the correct medicine in the Makino home. However, she wasn't gone for more than a minute when Ruki's shoji was suddenly opened. Ruki turned around quickly to find her mother standing in the doorway behind her.

Upon entering the room, her mother saw the body of the boy Ruki was tending to, and promptly screamed.

******

It was a while before Makino Rumiko finally regained some semblance of coherent thought.

_"I guess I cant blame her…anyone who walked in on that kind of situation would have been more than a little surprised," _Ruki decided. _"Still…she could have knocked."_

Finally awaking from her shock, Rumiko took the time to glance at both her daughter and the boy on the futon and shuddered. "Ruki…what are you doing w-with a dead boy in your room?" Her voice was barely over a whisper as she assumed the worse.

"Mom…he's still alive. He just needs a little time to recover…"

"But, how? I mean, who hurt him, and why bring him here?"

_"Damn it! How am I going to explain this one?_

"The idiot…well…he tried to protect me from some thugs." Ruki said slowly, making it up as she went along. "…Not that I need it or anything." She added hastily, after realizing what it sounded like.

"But why would he do something like that?" Rumiko inquired, having come to a conclusion that obviously hadn't reached her daughter's mind.

"He's a friend…yeah, a friend of mine."

"So, he's your boyfriend..? Well, that's wonderful, Ruki! And here I was worried that you might not like boys…" She smiled a smile that lit up the room, and darkened Ruki's thoughts.

Ruki couldn't help but roll her eyes, though she winced internally, _"How did I manage to get a mother this dense..?"_

"Mom…he's not my boyfriend." 

"Now, now, Ruki-chan, it's not nice to lie to your mother." Once again that smile resurfaced, something the female Tamer was beginning to hate "Oh! I need to go call a hospital to take care of him, do you possibly know how to reach his parents and or guardians?"

"Wait...if he ends up in the hospital I won't be able to get my answers! Damn it!" 

"Uh, Mom…since he got these injuries.. protecting me," it had been hard to say, but Ruki said it, "I think it's best if I take care of him."

Her mother stared at her oddly when she said that, and Ruki's face turned red. It was due to either blushing or anger, or perhaps both.

Seeing her mother's disbelieving look, she gave up trying to be reasonable, "Look, the Goggle-boy is my business, and my business alone!"

Instead of having her mother back down as usual, she only looked more pleased, looking at her with starry eyes. Ruki could only sweatdrop, as her mother got lost in visions of grandchildren.

"Kami-sama...what have I gotten myself into?" 

**- Present Time -**

_"This had better be worth it!"_ Ruki thought angrily while reaching for the bucket next to he, and retrieving a wet towel._"This is not how I planned to spend my weekend."_ She sighed, _"At least I finally learned some interesting things about that idiot…"_ She added in after thought, while placing a cold compress on Takato's forehead.

She paused in her work, and looked up to her ceiling and recalled some of the various things she learned. _"For instance, his healing is just plain nuts, because his injures seem to vanish hours, even minutes after being made. Then he gets injuries even when he's not moving around, almost like some invisible force was hurting him…this is getting stranger and stranger…"_

Ruki stopped her musings, and looked down towards the sleeping boy.

"He looks so innocent, like he wouldn't be able to hurt a fly in his sleep…yet this was also the kid who was fighting with a Garurumon, glowing sword in hand and blood pouring out of open wounds." 

She removed the cold compress and turned to a bucket she had beside her, and retrieved a new one, and placed it on the boy's head.

_"And of course he's been having nightmares and screaming out in his sleep."_ She frowned. She wished she had some idea of what he was talking about, and at the same time, wishing he could keep it down. No one was enjoying listening to him scream.

Ruki looked at her partner who was done tending to the bandages, and was now observing the sword; the 'Gogglehead' had been wielding earlier…

_"Never mind…at least without his sword and Digimon he's harmless…"_ But that brought up another question where was his Digimon? He hadn't appeared at the battle.

"I'm sure Goggles could have used his help there, but then again, we probably wouldn't have been able to bring him back with us, so I guess it worked out alright. I just hope he doesn't show up later, looking for him. But, what kind of a Tamer…no…what kind of a Chosen would be abandoned by his partner Digimon…isn't there some unwritten rule they have to stay with their partners whether they do evil things or not?" Not that she thought he was evil or anything, but things weren't fitting into place….

"Kami-sama, just thinking about this boy is giving me a headache." Ruki muttered softly.

"Then maybe you should take a break from watching over him, I can see you've put a great deal of effort into taking care of him."

Ruki turned to find her grandmother standing in the doorway. Renamon was thankfully, nowhere to be found.

"I'll just watch over him while you get some sleep. After all, you do have school tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll warn you the instant he wakes up."

"Thanks, I think." Ruki said hesitantly, quickly bowing before heading towards her room.

Seiko watched her granddaughter depart, a kind smile playing across her face. _"Usually Ruki would have just walked off without a word. Who knows, perhaps this boy may warm her heart…"_

******


End file.
